Ok... so I finally got to the heiress. My original plan was for them to just find her, but that was way to boring.

Usopp gasped as her turned around. Standing in the rain was a tall, lean figure.

Pale white, red lips, dark- soul less eyes, and long black hair that dripped well below her waist.

Her clothes were old and tattered, but if you looked hard enough, you could guess that they were originally white.

"I said, who dares to disturb my mother!"

Luffy pushed Usopp and Chopper aside, sending them scrambling behind Zoro for protection.

"We are not here to disturb your mother... only to talk to you." he said, outstretching a hand.

The girl stared right through him, as if determining if it were a trap.

"What is it you want to talk about?"

Luffy took a step towards the girl.

"How did you survive?" he asked, his eyes concentrated on the heiress.

The crew stepped forward, seeing that the girl was not interested in attacking them.

Sanji spoke up. "At least start with your side of the story! From ten years ago."

The girl looked up. 'It's been that long!"

Zoro nodded. The girl began her story.

"It happened ten years ago. Back then I was seven, and the town knew me as Nakito. Me and my mother had gone for an outing.

She was planning on getting some groceries. We were on our way home when the marines attacked.

One of then called her a name that I can't quite remember and shot her. I had no other family, so I buried her on top of this hill.

I ate the groceries that we had, and when they were gone- I ate anything I could find. Bugs, plants, ground up worms, tree bark. And I've been here alone for 10 years." she explained.

Luffy nodded with a sense of understanding.

"Ok. But we can't just leave you here. Would you like to join my crew, I've heard you sing beautifully." Luffy offered.

Nakito shook her head.

"No thank you, I vowed to keep my place by my mother's side. And I can never leave this place."

Sanji, despite the fact that Nakito had lived alone for years, started hitting on her.

"But Nakito- chwan. You have not eaten real food in ten years. It is not healthy for a young lady to eat such filth."

Nakito ignored Sanji, and wiped the rain water from her eyes. The outline of her mother's tomb stone shone as the rain beat upon it.

"No, mama needs me here. And I must stay." she growled, trying not to let these strangers get to her.

Zoro grunted. "Well then we'll leave you and your dead mama alone."

Chopper finally came up with the courage to speak to the ghastly girl.

"Is there something... keeping you from leaving?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "If I am to go beyond the foot of this hill, I will be killed by the gatekeeper. She told me so when I tried leaving after I spent two days by my mother."

Luffy adjusted his hat. "So you're here by force?"

Nakito stood and looked out onto the gray, cloudy ocean. "Yes. Because I was stupid enough to make a promise I couldn't live up to"

The winds changed direction, blowing hard against the Straw Hats.

"Go home. You do not want to stay here to long. The dead will mistake you for one of them"

Luffy felt the ground move under him, and there was a slow squelch as the ground split open.

"You are going home. Do not be afraid." Nakito whispered, watching the crew disappear beneath the surface.

Luffy jolted upward. Sweat was trickling down his face.

"W-what?' he asked, seeing Zoro by his side.

"I said, wake up. We've reached our new town."

Luffy glanced around, it was all just a dream.

Or maybe it wasn't, because as the ship docked Luffy saw a tall hill, with a lone tree.

And a figure standing ghostly on top.

The horror of Nocturnal Hill.

It took me a while to get the ending just right. And I kinda got bored with Nakito when she was rambling about how she survived. But at least it's finished.