{A/N: Since my best friend has gotten me hooked on One Piece, I decided to write a story with my oc just for fun. I have a very short attention span, and can never stick to anything. Which is why my stories never get completed. Unless they are oneshots. xD I'm not certain who to pair the OC with, but I'm leaning toward either Lucci or Smoker. Even Luffy since the original character can be a naïve idiot herself, lol! If anyone reads this story, I'll let you decide who she's better with. :) Of course since One Piece doesn't really focus on romance, there won't be too much of that in this story. Hope you all enjoy. ^_^}

A young girl, no older than six, sat staring at the various people walking by with a blank look on her fair, and freckled face. Most wouldn't spare the child in the ragged blue dress a glance, and the very few that did wore expressions of either pity or actual amusement. Very rarely, some would throw her a few pieces of beli and she would be able to purchase a loaf of bread-something she was able to make last at least a week.

Unfortunately, it had been four days since the child had eaten and her stomach ached and grumbled in distress, causing the grey haired girl to softly whimper and rub at it.

Her mother had always told her it was wrong to steal, but seeing a nearby cart with fruit made the girl's mouth water and she nervously looked around. She had seen other children, and even adults sometimes steal from the various vendors around. It was rare when they would get away. They would often get beaten just for trying to steal a single item or killed right on the spot. People on this island took the law into their own hands...

Children weren't spared from the cruelty, so she had always been scared to take that risk...And the girl didn't want to disappoint her mother who she knew was watching her from heaven...

But she was so hungry, and her stomach hurt so badly...Surely her mom would forgive her just for stealing a small piece of fruit, right?

Waiting till no one was around, the girl moved away from her little corner and dashed over to the fruit cart. One particular fruit happened to catch the pink eyed child's interest, and she reached for it with her small hands when the owner was occupied. It looked like a kiwi, but it was multicolored and seemed to almost shine. It was probably the prettiest item she had ever seen before in her young life, and she couldn't help but stare at it in awe.

"Oi, brat? What do you think you're doing?"

Letting out a squeak, in a state of panic, the child shoved the fruit into her mouth. For something so beautiful, it tasted horrible, and she wanted to spit it back out. However, something seemed to be keeping her from doing so, and she ended up swallowing the fruit in one gulp. Yet she couldn't help but gag from the after taste as she wiped at her mouth when a bit of drool had escaped from her chapped lips.

"I hope you plan to pay for that, kid...That particular fruit you just ate nearly cost me my life to get. I was planning to sell it for 100,000,000 beli..."

The child's eyes greatly widened, and she slowly started to back away when noticing the merchant pulling out a sharp looking knife while she stuttered out, "I-I'm sorry...I d-d-don't have m-money like t-t-that..."

Seeing the man's eyes flashing dangerously the girl took off as fast as she could, pushing past people as she could hear the seller yelling for her to stop. Not that she would ever do such a crazy thing. Even if her life was horrible, that didn't mean she was ready to die, and she was certain the balding male meant to kill her.

Thinking she could lose the merchant down a passageway, the scrawny child gasped when she realized she had gone down a dead end. The fruit seller had blocked the only entrance and exit, and the girl backed away when he started to steadily approach her; the knife glinting ominously in his hold.

"Pl-please..."

"You aren't even worth selling as a slave. But at least I know someone who'll find your organ's useful," the man cackled out, causing the child to scream and fall down when he slashed at her arm causing a slightly deep cut.

Closing her eyes and curling into a ball, the child didn't notice that her shadow appeared to be moving on its own. The merchant however did, yet before he could ponder on what he was seeing, a choked sound was leaving the male's lips, and he shakily looked down to see that a broadsword had been pierced straight through his chest.

"Seems the cities gone to shit even more so than when I was last here. Taking the life of an innocent when they haven't even done anything wrong...That's one thing I won't forgive..."

"Y-your...Al...tair..." the man struggled to gasp out, letting out a pained cry when the red eyed male roughly removed his sword; grabbing the merchant by the back of his shirt and tossing him carelessly back onto the street where people either screamed from seeing the slowly dying male or ignored him, being used to that sort of thing in this town.

Not sure what was going on, the quivering girl opened her eyes, only to squeak in fright seeing a tall dark haired male with a matching beard. That wasn't what had startled her, though. An odd creature with circular yellow glowing eyes was latched onto the man's arm and appeared to be glaring up at him. The creature had a vaguely humanoid form, but it had to be no taller than 3 feet with three claws for hands and large feet with no discernable digits. It's form was completely black, and it had two antennae's sprouting from the top of its head.

"Your an interesting thing, aren't ya?" Altair mused, looking at the monster more with curiosity than fear. Despite the fact that it was clearly trying to bite off his arm. "Do you mind telling this thing to quit and that I'm not a threat to you, kid?"

"H-huh?"

"If I hadn't killed that guy, I'm sure this creature would have tried to. It did form out of your shadow," Altair said, pointing down at the ground where the girl blinked multiple times when she noticed that she no longer appeared to have a shadow. "And I'm not sure how your powers work, so I'd rather not have to hurt it. So would you mind...?"

"O-oh um, you can let go of him, m-mister shadow..." the girl got out meekly, feeling completely confused by this entire situation.

The shadow creature glanced back at the grey haired girl, slowly releasing Altair's arm where he gave the bearded male a warning glance before he moved to sit down next to his creator. Though she nervously scooted away from it, causing the shadow to casually scoot after her.

"Wh-what are you?" she asked softly, hesitating a moment before poking at the monster. It's only response was a twitch of its antennae's before it started to scratch at the back of its spherical head, almost like a dog would.

Altair crouched down in front of the child, smiling faintly when the shadow moved protectively in front of the little girl when it noticed her apprehension.

"You don't have to be afraid of me. My names Altair. What's your name?" the tall male who had to be at least 7 feet greeted, extending out his large hand.

Hesitating a moment, the pink eyed girl nibbled at her bottom lip before shyly extending out her own hand.

"Toffee..."

"Well, Toffee, I'd say that fruit you just ate was a Devil Fruit. Do you know what that is?" When Toffee shook her head, Altair nodded in understanding before continuing. "It's a mystical fruit that grants it's user a special ability. And from the look of yours, I'd say it gave your shadow life where it became it's own sentient being."

"Really?" Toffee gasped out, tilting her head as her shadow copied the girl's movements, making her giggle. "So, it's like magic!"

Altair chuckled at that, pulling a white handkerchief from out of his coats pocket which he used to wrap around the girls injured arm. "I suppose you could think of it that way. Some people see them as a curse because a lot of people tend to react badly to Devil Fruit users...There's also the fact that you'll never be able to swim again."

"I could never swim anyways, so that doesn't bother me," Toffee admitted with a small shrug, no longer feeling so afraid of the black creature beside her as she reached out to hug it. "And now that I have him beside me, I'm not alone anymore."

Altair frowned deeply at this, standing up as he placed one hand in the pocket of the burgundy coat he wore while he held his other hand out for Toffee to take.

"I can take you to a place where you can grow up with other kids. They're a bunch of idiotic brats, but we're a family. A dysfunctional one, but a family nonetheless...And you could become a part of it,"

"A family..." Toffee whispered, looking down sadly. It had just been her mother and her, but Toffee's mother had always been a frail woman, and she had caught a disease that was unfortunately incurable...Though the innocent girl didn't know what a brothel was, the man there who owned the building had tossed her out onto the streets, despite the other women's protests, when he found her crying over her mother's lifeless form. And she had been on her own ever since...

Glancing over at her shadow who had a look of sadness within its own eyes, Toffee smiled faintly as she rubbed at the creatures dark head before she reached out to place her hand in Altair's.

"I'd like that, mister."

Letting Altair lead her, Toffee couldn't help but grip onto the red eyed males hand tightly when she realized they were headed for the forest on the island; a place most people tried to avoid.

"W-why are we headed for Deadwood Grove? They say it's h-haunted!"

"I suppose there could be ghosts in here, but I've never seen one," Altair mused with a small smirk. "Nothing but lowlifes living here that are trying to escape from the chaos of the city."

Toffee couldn't help but gulp, still feeling afraid. The six year old was surprised when the trees in the area gradually became less full, and she gasped since they came upon a small village that had been set up in a clearing. She had no idea another town even existed on the island.

"Back so soon, Altair? I thought you were heading into the city to prepare and then set sail on one of your little 'escapades'?" a slightly plump older woman asked with a kind smile.

"I sort of got distracted..." Altair answered, peering back at Toffee who had taken to hiding behind his leg when the woman approached them. The poor kid must have really had it rough if she became this easily frightened.

"Oh, the poor dear...It's sweet of you to take in all these orphans, Altair, but I hope you're not planning to get her involved like the others?" the woman mentioned in a slight warning tone, placing her hand on her hips.

Smiling awkwardly, Altair let out a small laugh while rubbing at the back of his neck. "I haven't quite decided yet...I'm more worried about raising a girl to be honest...Can I count on you for assistance, Mrs. Tessa?"

"Of course. And if those other troublemakers give her any problems, you just come to me," Tessa voiced sternly, giving a soft smile to Toffee. "Don't worry, sweetie. Altair may look scary and smell bad, but he's a decent fellow. And auntie Tessa will be here if you need anything."

"O-okay. Thank you, ma'am." Toffee spoke up shyly, giggling since Altair was sniffing at the white fur around the collar of his coat, probably to see if he really did have an odor before the two of them were heading off once again.

Noticing various people greeting them, Toffee looked up at Altair curiously while saying, "Everyone here seems really nice,"

"You've only seen the worst this island has to offer, but not everyone here is a bad person," Altair sighed out, a distant look on his tanned and rugged face. "You know what this island is called, right?"

"Yes. The Isle of the Forgotten..."

"Because this is a place where people are either sent or come to because they no longer want to or were told they shouldn't exist," Altair said lowly, his features darkening. "The marines don't even bother with the island because scum like us are beneath their radar...That's why so many criminals have made their homes in the main part of the city. They're able to get away with whatever they want.

"But not everyone on this island wants to live a petty and miserable life. They want to try and have a normal, decent life like any living creature hopes for...Those here look toward the future and continue to strive forward, no matter how hard life on this damnable rock might be."

Toffee didn't say anything, but she felt a small ache in her chest. It wasn't right that people had to live in such horrible conditions, but like Altair had mentioned, not even the law force cared what happened to anyone here. Maybe at least if one person did, perhaps things around here would change, but until then...

"Here we are. Your new home," Altair said gruffly, stopping in front of one of the more larger houses in the village.

Hearing voices and what sounded like crashing coming from inside, Toffee couldn't help but cling to Altair's leg, this causing the dark haired male to shake his head as he marched into the building with the child remaining attached to him.

The household was a mess, looking as if it had been through its own little world war, and Altair twitched seeing two young boys yelling and chasing each other around the property while a third was sitting on the staircase and appeared to be admiring himself in a handheld mirror.

"OI! YOU DAMN BRATS! FRONT AND CENTER!"

Immediately stopping in what they were doing, the three boys scrambled to stand in front of Altair, looking like miniature soldiers; the smallest of the children even saluting Altair in a rather cute fashion.

"THEO! GET YER ASS DOWN HERE!"

"Coming, coming! No need to shout, old man," a teen with slightly messy black hair and golden eyes with a hint of red in them groaned out as he lazily came walking down the stairs. He rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth that was oddly covered with surgical mask before continuing, "I thought you were leaving today...?"

"If this is how you look after the household while I'm gone, I'm regretting ever leaving you alone..." Altair grumbled while an anger vein had formed on the side of his head.

"We normally have the place cleaned up before you get home. You were early today," a silver haired and hazel eyed boy mentioned casually, only to whine when Theo punched him upside the head.

Despite the other children nervously sweating seeing Altair glaring at them, one boy with rather long blond hair and brown eyes was staring curiously at Toffee.

"Hey, hey! Who's that scrawny kid hiding behind you, papa?"

"This is Toffee. She's going to be your new little sister, so treat her right. Or else..." Altair muttered, pushing the short haired girl forward.

"SISTER?!"

"Hmm? Are you sure it's a she, old man. They don't really look all that feminine," a dirty blond haired boy with blue eyes who wore a black fedora on his head said playfully while poking the pink eyed kid in her cheek.

The blue eyed child ended up freezing when an odd creature had suddenly came shooting up out of the ground, yelping in pain when it actually kicked him in his stomach as he fell over on his side while holding onto his gut.

"Oh, and she's a Devil Fruit user. So I'd be careful if I were you," Altair mentioned with a large grin, the other boys snickering at their brother's groans of pain. "Anyways, the lazy dark haired brat is Theo. The silver haired kid is Ashley. The one who needs a haircut is Cain. And that's his twin, Deimos, that's rolling on the floor right now."

"Um, it's nice to meet you..." Toffee greeted timidly, giving a little wave.

She was surprised when Cain came running up to her and embraced her in an affectionate hug as if they had known each other for years.

"This is so exciting! I've always wanted a little sister!" he chirped, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement. "Now I can teach you all kinds of cool things like how to throw shuriken's and shove eleven bugs inside your mouth without throwing up!"

"Pretty sure girls don't like doing stuff like that," Theo mumbled out with a small sweat drop.

"Ugh! I wouldn't even touch a bug, let alone eat a bug myself..." Ashley shivered, looking at the smaller boy like he was mad.

To both of the boys surprise Toffee giggled while giving a happy grin, humming out, "That sounds like a lot of fun! Doesn't it, Heartless?"

"Heartless?" Altair questioned with a raised brow, glancing at Toffee's shadow who was rapidly shaking his head. Apparently he didn't like the idea of his master shoving bugs inside her mouth either.

"Yeah. I wanted to give him a name, and Heartless was the first name that popped into my head," Toffee replied innocently.

"Heh, I see...Well since Toffee and Heartless are now a part of our family, why don't we throw a feast in their honor," Altair declared in his deep baritone voice, leaning down to place a hand on Toffee and the newly dubbed Heartless' shoulder while the other kids cheered in excitement.

That night, Toffee had eaten more than she could ever remember. She couldn't recall when she had last laughed and smiled this much either, but just watching the antics of Theo and the others, had her constantly giggling. She didn't find it disgusting when Deimos shoved chopsticks up his nose, or when Cain spit out milk right on Theo, who ended up screaming something about germs and ran right out of the room, continuing to shriek like a banshee.

Altair would often end up punching her new brothers upside the head whenever they got too wild or would even send them flying straight into a wall if they wouldn't listen. Yet for his rough nature, it was clear he cared about them since he scolded Deimos for making his nose bleed and had looked concerned when Ashley almost choked on a chicken bone he had accidentally swallowed.

So this is what a real family looks like Toffee thought with a happy smile, holding Heartless in her lap as she cuddled her little shadow like he was a teddy bear.

A few days had passed by and Toffee squirmed lightly as Theo tucked her into bed. They had cleaned out what had been a storage room for her to use, not wanting her to have to share with the other boys, (Cain having been disappointed by this since he had wanted Toffee to share his bed with him).

"Hey, Theo? Why did Altair leave...?"

"The old man just had some business to take care of. He'll be back in a few weeks or so."

"But what does Altair do? Cain just told me he's a super hero and takes down bad guys!"

Theo rubbed at the top his head and shifted his gaze over to the side. "I suppose he's trying to make the world a better place in his own way. Not that everyone would see it that way..."

"Are you and the others going to be super heroes like Altair, too?"

"Ashley and me help out some times, but Cain and Deimos are still young...Anyways, you should get some sleep. Aren't you tired after being drug around all day?" Theo mused, grabbing a stuffed rabbit off the nearby end table and placing it beside her.

"I-I'm not!" Toffee claimed, only to let out a long yawn which caused Theo to snicker. "Since you guys are heroes, you should come up with a name."

Theo snorted at this and crossed his arms over his chest. "You sound like Deimos. I don't think calling ourselves The Rascals or The Untamed is a good idea."

"Then...how about the Shadow Strikers? Heartless can be your mascot!" Toffee giggled out while pointing to her shadow who was curled up at the end of her bed, his antennae's twitching to show he liked that idea.

Theo's golden and red eyes slightly grew larger at this, and he smiled behind the surgical mask he always sported.

"Shadow Strikers. We strike from the darkness where our targets never see us coming...That's pretty clever, kiddo," Theo acknowledged, ruffling Toffee's hair and making her lightly blush. "Now go to sleep. I don't want to get beaten by Altair because you stayed up past your bed time."

Seeing the 18 year old about to leave the room, Toffee called out to him before he cut out her light and shut the door, "Theo! I'm...really happy papa adopted me. And that you and the others became my brothers."

Theo blinked multiple times since this was the first time he had heard Toffee call the old man papa, and he beamed knowing this would probably choke Altair up when he learns she had. The man was a softie, even if he'd deny it.

"We feel the same, Toffee. And I promise you, we'll never let anyone ever hurt you again. So long as you're with us, you'll always be safe." Theo promised, winking at the child before he flipped off her light; closing her door, yet leaving it open a crack to allow a small amount of light to pour in.

{A/N: Toffee's shadow ability is a little similar to Moria's, but not quite. I imagine its the weaker version of a shadow attack similar to how Ace's fire ability was compared to Akainu's. And I stole her shadow's appearance from the Shadow heartless in Kingdom Hearts. Mainly because I always found them adorable and I have no creativity. xD)