Author's notes:
I fought a huge battle with my muse and won!! Otherwise there wouldn't have been enough ideas fo this story... hopefully she recovers soon...

Hugs go to my sis and bro!! Well done!
R&R if possible... pretty please??

=--= means thoughts!!

/()/()/()/()/()/
"Land in sight!!"

Head snapping up from the table in the conference room, Luffy's face brightened up in an instant.
Finally they were going to find some action and adventures, fight against new monsters and hopefully find meat!!!

He was starving, the hole in his stomache big enough to fit a whole cow in!
Though his last meal had just been two hours ago...

"Yeah!! Land!!!" He yelled, running out onto the bridge and jumping across the deck, climbing up onto the lamb head and sitting down, eyes gleaming happily at the sight in front of him.

A small island, with huge cliffs rising out of the ocean like a gigantic wall protecting the land behind it.

"Strange..."
"What is it my dear Nami?!" Sanji asked, a goofy smile covering the better part of his face.
"This is not the island, the Lock Port is aligned to... we found it actually only by accident."

"I don't care! It's an island and I need food!!... Usopp get the others on deck!"
Nodding, Usopp got inside, calling for the rest of the crew to come outside, helping them to find a way through the cliffs surrounding the isle.
Soon the whole crew was on deck, eyes wandering over the wide, steep rocky coast.

"We can't land here... there's practically no way of getting past the cliffs with the ship."
Everybody turned around to where Maya was standing with her back against the mast, Kyra sitting peacefully beside her.

"Why? How'd you know?" Nami asked bewildered.
"This is the island I come from... the only way of getting onto the island is climbing up the cliffs,
which is the reason why most pirates never got the chance to raid our villages... we defeated them when they tried in vain to find a safe way past the cliffs."

"Cool!... But how do we get past 'em? I'm so hungry!!"
Maya didn't answer, she merely gazed down at her dirty boots.

"We shouldn't try it... " Heads turned towards Robin, who was leaning against the railing of the ship's right, looking across the lamb-head at the huge cliffs.

"She's right." Maya intervened, once again gaining everybody's attention. "The inhabitants hate pirates more than death... they won't allow you to enter their villages without a fight. The first and last time somebody has gotten onto this island has left the survivers of the massaker that had followed, shaken and traumatized... Please don't force them to relive that day."

Looking over to Nico Robin, Maya noticed that her eyes were casted downwards. She apparently knew exactly about what Maya had been talking... at least one of them, she didn't have to explain.

"But, Maya! We need supplies and meat!"
Shaking his head, Sanji mumbled something about meat and supplies being one and the same, but knew that Luffy didn't hear him anyway.

"Maybe I could get onto the island with my Gum-Gum-canon?!" Luffy thought out loud, eyes shining in excitement.
He therefore didn't notice Nami walking up on him, raising her fist and...

BONK

"Don't even think about it... if Maya says that they're going to kill us, then we won't land anywhere near this island, got it??" Nami raised her fist threateningly at her captain, but wasn't surprised to find his eyes shining unimpressed with pride about his 'plan'.

"I'll take care of the supplies, captain." Maya told him, getting onto the eagle's back.
"I still have some unfinished business with that island."

With that, Kyra jumped up into the air, her large wings catching the strong wind. It didn't take long and the large bird of pray was even with the edge of the cliffs.

"But I want to get onto the island!!" Luffy grumbled, arms already extended and flying towards the giant eagle. Not missing his target, Luffy's hands got told of the talons.
With a large grin, Luffy flew into the air, his arms getting pulled together in highspeed.

"Oh boy... that guy is so unpredictable..." Nami averted her eyes from the disappearing eagle and walked back inside, trying to calm her screaming nerves and hoping that Luffy was not going to get in any trouble...

/()/()/()/()/
"What the hell where you thinking?!" Frowning Luffy, not really understanding why Maya was that pissed off all of a sudden.

"I wanted to come along."
"I told you to stay on board, dammit! This is no place for somebody like you!"
"Why? I'm not going to break anything, I swear!"

Sighing, Maya swept a calming palm across her features and closed her eyes for a long moment.
"Alright... I'm going to visit someone and don't wanne get disturbed, alright?" She waited until Luffy nodded. "So, you stay here and don't touch anything or talk with anybody!"

Turning around, Luffy looked at the various booths offering all kinds of food and other cool stuff.
Pursing his lips and thinking about it for a second, he finally turned back towards his waiting friend.

"Ok... not gonna move an inch from here."
"Why don't I believe you... " She mumbled, before straightening.

"I'll be on one of the hills behind the village... if you really need help or get into trouble, head north-west. You can't miss me there..." She told him and again Luffy nodded very enthusiastically.

Suddenly, Maya remembered something, Nami had told her some days ago, when they were talking about whims of their male crew members.
"Dammit, Nami warned me about your inability to follow a compass-needle... alright, I'll leave Kyra with you. She knows where I am."

"Thanx! Hey, Kyra!! Gotta have some fun, right?!"
Sweatdropping, the eagle watched as her best friend walked down a street, leaving her behind with a maniac.

/()/()/()/()/
It had been more than three years since Maya had been here the last time.
Years in which she had tried to burry the last memories of her past... having hoped to do so along with the dead bodies of the ones guilty of the grand massacre.

Now that she was here again, standing in front of hills covered with uncountable graves, the pictures and noises of that day came flooding back into her mind, making her eyes fill with unshed tears.

Four years of her formally happy life, she had been hiding her feelings along with the memories.
But now, the time had come to face the ghosts of her past..."How did you get past the cliffs?"
Maya could only hear the voice of her father, the words echoing through the marbled halls where the kings throne was situated.

Still hiding behind a large column, she listened to the noise of heavy boots walking to where her dad was leaning against a massive table, in his arms the heavily breathing body of her mother.

"I'm one of the seven samurai... do you really think that rediculous cliff could prevent 'me' from getting onto this island?!" His voice boomed through the great halls, accompanied by a another sound... somebody was giggling.

"Why did you do this? What have we done?" Her father asked the man with the large scar parting his face like a carefully drawn line just underneath the empty eyes.
"Oh, you were part of a test... my new partner had to proof herself and I thought, that getting rid of a whole island was just the right thing to show her abilities... hahahaha!!"

Covering her mouth, Maya drew in a shocked breath.
'Her?
There was woman killing all those innocent people?

"I hope I have passed the test, Mr. Zero."
"Not yet, my dear Nico Robin... there are still three people left who know about my identity."

Oh God!
They knew she was here!

Gripping her swords more tightly, Maya strained the muscles in her body. She was ready to fight... she wouldn't allow them to kill her parents! She'd rather die!

"Leave them alone!" Yelling, she jumped out of her hiding place, her two swords clasped in her sweating hands. She was shaking nearly violently when her eyes caught sight of the numerous dead, bloody bodies lying scattered all across the throne hall.

"Maya!! Get outta here!! Don't try and kill them, they're too strong!" Her father shouted at the top of his lungs, blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth.

But Maya ignored the words of her dad, her gaze holding that of her enemies unwaveringly.
A large man with a silver hook and a slender woman... a dagger in her left hand.

"I will not allow you to kill my parents like you've done with the rest of my family and friends!!"
Tears streamed down her face at the words, dropping onto the floor and leaving behind a salty puddle.

"Robin..."
"Yeah." Eyes cold as ice, the woman moved her arms and mumbled something, Maya couldn't hear.

Suddenly, hands grew out of the floor beside her parents and the woman threw the dagger towards them.
One hand caught the weapon easily, the others taking hold of Maya's father and mother, before they had a chance of escaping.

Eyes that wouldn't obey her brain to look away stared at the scene in front of Maya with somewhat morbid fascination... the dead, empty eyes of her father staring back at her.

"Well done, Nico Robin... or should I say, Miss All Sunday?"
The woman didn't answer, instead she walked over to the dead body of Maya's mother, still being held tightly against her husband's chest, and picked up the bloodied degger.

Maya's swords crashed down onto the floor, hands that were trembling violently not longer able to hold on to them.
The tears had stopped and with clear, brown eyes, Maya watched Miss All Sunday towering above the dead, bloody body of her mother... the picture embedding itself into her brain.

"When you're finished here, come back to the ship... we have to finish the recruitment." Mr. Zero said, turning around and walking out of the throne hall.

Alone with the woman called Nico Robin, Maya still didn't avert her eyes from her parents.
Even when the woman was heading towards her, the degger in her hand, Maya didn't move.

"I wish there was another way..." Robin told the young girl.

Suddenly pain shot through Maya's shoulder, bringing new tears to her eyes.
She felt something move through the skin of her back, but the pain had subsided, nothing more than a distant pressure.

Maya knew that the warm feeling on her back was her blood cascading down her body and that the fact that she was sinking down onto her knees was due to the blood loss.

Looking down at the floor, she saw a red puddle form underneath her knees and before her eyes closed, she looked into the dark ones of Miss All Sunday...
=--=

/()/()/()/()/
"Booooring!" Luffy made a face as he watched Kyra sleep peacefully beside him on the small well.
"Why didn't I stay with the others on ship?"

A elderly woman gave him a strange look when she saw Luffy talk to himself, but he didn't care and instead settled on staring at the ground in front of his feet.

Slowly his eyes lost focus and his heavy lids threatened to drop shut, when they suddenly caught sight of something small and black pattering across the dusty ground.

"An ant!" Immediately his eyes snapped open, shining brightly as he watched the little insect making its way past his feet with a piece of a leaf inbetween its strong jaws.

Within a fraction of a second, Luffy was lying on the ground, head resting on his crossed arms, so that his eyes were at the same level as the ant. His gaze followed the insect as it wandered seemingly aimlessly across the market place.

When it accidently bumped against Luffy's hand, the rubber-boy had a laughing fit.
His strange behaviour caught the attention from most people standing around him, making him to the center of most conversations going on.

"Hey, where are ya goin'?" He asked the ant, when it suddenly sprinted off into the opposite direction.
Luffy got on all fours, crawling on the track of the insect he was pursuing. His nose was nearly grazing the ground as he stared with large eyes at the object of his curiosity.

Again the ant changed abruptly directions, Luffy doing the same.
But suddenly, his chase ended with a loud 'Bang.
He had crawled against a large statue that was standing at one side of the market place.

"Ouch!" Luffy complained soundly about his hurting forehead, rubbing a red spot vigorously.

"Watch out, boy!!" Somebody yelled and Luffy turned towards the owner of the voice, regarding the wildly gesticulating man with a bewildered look.

Too late, Luffy noticed that the man was pointing at the statue he had collided with some seconds ago and which was falling down at him. He had no time to get out of its way and Luffy stared at the statue representing a man in awe... until it crashed down at him, bouncing off and rolling to one side.

"Argh!!" Jumping off the ground, Luffy pulled off his strawhat and turned it into all directions.
"That damn thing bended the rim!!" He practically fumed, not even taking notice of the large blue bump on his head where the statue had hit him. Instead he kicked it a few times in anger.

That, on the other hand, made the people gathered around him fume in anger!
First that guy brought their statue to fall and 'then' he kicked it!! What was that kid thinking?!

"I hope you have enough money to pay that, young man!" One older woman said, her walking stick risen threateningly at Luffy.
"Money?... I have no money..."

The row of people closed up on him and sweat started dripping down Luffy's forehead as he watched the dark, angry eyes of the villagers.
"No money, huh? Let's see what we can do about it..."

/()/()/()/()/
"Mom, Dad... I think I have finally found something like peace... There are some pirates, but they're not like all those dumb-heads on sea." Inhaling deeply, she allowed her gaze to wander across the grave of her parents.

"They're my friends... and I hope you're not mad at me for being a pirate now and that the woman that killed you is in the same crew... Mom, I did what you've told me; I've forgiven her, but I will never forget!
I couldn't forget what she's done, but I'm willing to give her a second chance... hopefully it's the right thing to do, 'cause I'm too exhausted to continue this empty, cold life anymore."

Smiling slightly, Maya laid down a bunch of flowers she had plucked on her way to the graveyard down onto the dark earth and listened into the silence that surrounded her... when suddenly a familiar but distant noise caught her attention.

"Luffy?" She asked nobody in particular and turned around.

"Mayaaaaa!!"
Not really surprised, she watched Kyra fly across a hill, heading straight towards her.

On the eagle's back, Luffy was sitting, his arms thrown high into the air in obvious joy as the strong wind nearly blew his hat off of his head. He was shouting her name and yelling incoherent things and slowly Maya doubted his sanity, when her eyes caught sight of a dozen people appear on the horizon, following Kyra or probably rather the person sitting on her back!

"What the heck...?"
"Mayaaaa!! We need to get off this island! Hahahaha!!"
Sighing she lifted her right arm high into the air and shook her head.

"Mom, Dad... wish me luck... we'll see us again some day..."
Suddenly, Kyra's talons grabbed Maya's hand, pulling her up.

With the other one, she waved the angry villagers 'bye', before taking hold of Luffy's offered hand.
With a swift movement, she swung up onto the back of her friend, finding the rubber-boy grinning cheekily down at her.

"What happened?"
"I dunno... didn't move an inch from where ya left me! They said something about 'not going to allow the soon-to-be-pirate-king to stay in their village'." He shrugged nonchalantly and pulled his legs up from where they were dangling to either side of Kyra's body, now sitting cross-legged on the giant eagle.

"What were you doing anyway up there, huh?" Luffy finally asked Maya, when the Going Merry came into view.

"Said bye to my past."

/()/()/()/()/()/
FINIS!
Whatcha thinking? Now we finally know Maya's past sigh !! I guess that's the last part of this series... but there's already a new one in work bg