[AU: I feel awful for writing this when I'm still not done with four other unfinished fanfictions of mine, but I've had this story in mind for a while and just had to write it out. I'm probably not going to be finishing it too soon, so it'll be an ongoing story, just 'cause I have work to do, other stories to finish, and I'm still reading/watching One Piece, just so it's all legit and stuff. Kori Eternus, my OC in this story, belongs to me, so nobody is allowed to steal her. I'm going to be using her in my original works in the future. Kori was already born into the world of OP, so she didn't just magically appear there like in other fanfic stories. Thank you and read on.]

[AU: I haven't updated this story in almost a year, so as I'm reading through it again, I realized that there were a lot of errors … So! I'm going to be reposting the first 7 chapters and then put up the rest of the story soon! A billion apologizes to the followers (who are all probably just as impatient about this story as I am), but I've been watching and reading more One Piece, so now I'm planning out the rest of the story and the sequels. That's right, I said SEQUELS! Hahahahahahaha! … Okay, arigato!]

[This chapter has been revised.]

Loving Revenge

Kori's POV:

What the hell am I doing here? I thought bitterly as I watched the pirate crew gallivanting around, enjoying themselves as they followed the orders of their deranged immortal captain. By that 'deranged immortal captain' I assume you already know that I'm talking about Pirate Captain Buggy the Clown, otherwise known as Buggy the Immortal because of his unique Devil Fruit ability. If you didn't know that already, then you really need to read the paper sometime.

Apparently I wasn't allowed to simply walk through this abandoned town without having pirates capture me and lock me in a ridiculous cage. What did I ever do to them? I was just trying to find food, a shower, and a place to crash for the night, but no! I had to meet up with this baka of a captain instead. I just hoped he didn't recognize me. He had stared at me for a long while before ordering his crew to throw me into a small cage just near the edge of the tavern roof they were currently using as a hideout.

And so now here I am, trapped in this prison - not even a prison, more like a lunchbox! - without even a glance in my direction from the crew members. I grew tired of their negligence and began to devise an escape plan in my head. If I could simply find a distraction for just a few minutes then I'd be able to make my grand escape. But since Buggy seems to be keeping a close eye on me, how am I supposed to do that?

It seems my prayers - okay, not prayers, but work with me here - were answered when three of Buggy's crew members burst through the rooftop doors, shaking in their boots as they confronted their Captain about something. I only managed to hear a few things they said before the insane clown began shouting at the top of his lungs.

"WHAT!? YOU LET THAT THIEF GET AWAY!? YOU'RE TELLING ME A LITTLE TART OUTRAN THREE OF MY BEST MEN!?" Captain Buggy yelled at the top of his lungs, his anger practically pulsating from his very being.

"A thousand pardons, Cap'n Buggy!" The crew members said in their defense. "But her boss, the guy in the straw hat, was really strong!"

"FOR THIS YOU DIE!" Buggy shouted.

Those poor, unfortunate bastards. But I would've done the same thing if they had failed me over something as huge as letting a thief get away. Well, maybe not, but whatever the thief stole must have been pretty valuable for that clown to go down on his own crew members like that.

However, whatever punishment the three men would've received came to a halt as another crew member interrupted. "Cap'n Buggy! It's the map-stealer - she just walked in the door."

"Good! Bring her here!" Buggy replied, slouching in his chair further.

They opened the doors to the rooftop to reveal a young girl carrying a tied up boy in a straw hat. The girl had big brown eyes, short orange hair, and a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. She wore a simple T-shirt, yellow skirt, and a pair of shiny brown boots. The boy wore a red vest, blue jeans, sandals, and, as I already said, an old straw hat. He had scruffy black hair and what looked to be a stitched scar under his left eye. I began to wonder what these commoners were doing here until the girl held up what looked to be a map.

The girl then spoke up, keeping her smile on her face. "Captain Buggy! I've captured the thief! And here's your map!"

The boy squirmed around a bit on the ground before getting a good look at the girl who had dropped him, sending her an evil glare. "Hey! You tricked me!"

She merely stuck her tongue out in response.

I looked back at Buggy, who now wore a twisted grin on his face in replace of his ugly scowl. He chuckled before sneering at the girl with the map. "Hmmm . . .you're returning the map? What's this all about?"

The girl's smile brightened even more. "I had a dispute with my employer! He's an idiot, so I thought I'd join up with you! I'm Nami the Cat Burglar!"

Buggy's expression was torn between confused and baffled, I couldn't tell which. Obviously this chick was out of her mind if she wanted to join up with this baka of a clown! No way is she sane! However, it seemed that Buggy believed every word she said because not even one minute later they were all celebrating their new crew member. Buggy handed her a mug of rum and let the pirates all dance and sing together while enjoying food and alcohol.

I am surrounded by gullible bakas …

I glowered at Buggy while he wasn't looking until a strange sound made me look up. I saw the boy with in the straw hat locked in a similar cage next to mine, his torso tied up securely while trying to gnaw his way out of the cell. I almost snickered at his silly antics, but thought better of it, remaining serious in the current situation.

"You're just going to break your teeth if you keep that up." I said to the boy.

He stopped gnawing on the bars and looked over at me. He took in my appearance, then glared at me. "I know, but I'm just so hungry! I want to get out and eat something!"

"Well, if you do get out, then get me something to eat, too." I sighed. My stomach growled loudly, emphasizing my point.

"If you're so hungry, then why haven't you eaten?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Because I've been sailing day and night without hitting any islands along with way and forgot to pack some food." I replied. I shifted in my ropes uncomfortably before settling back down. I really need to get out of here.

"You've been sailing on the seas? Are you a pirate, too?" He grinned at me - a freakishly big grin, might I add - and chuckled. "If you are a pirate, you wanna' join my crew?"

I glanced sideways at him, raising an eyebrow at his sudden perkiness."I don't know you and have no reason to become a pirate. Besides, what kind of pirate gets himself captured by an enemy crew like the Buggy Clowns?"

He shrugged. "You tell me since you got captured, too."

"I didn't do shit to get myself captured!" I replied harshly. I was getting really irritated with this guy. "I'm just trying to find my way back home and as far away from those horrible Marines as I possibly can!"

The boy laughed, still grinning. "What's your name?"

I sighed. "Kori Eternus."

His grin grew. "Well, Kori, I like your attitude! I'm Monkey D. Luffy, pirate captain! If we get out of this, you wanna' join my pirate crew?"

"Always with the crew offers, huh?" I sighed. "Look, Luffy, I'm not interested. I fly solo, got it? I'd just be getting you into even more trouble if you associated with me, so do the smart thing and just leave me be, alright?"

Luffy gave me a blank look, his grin disappearing. "I don't take no for an answer. I want you to be my nakama."

I rolled my eyes, but stopped when I realized something. I had the perfect opportunity to escape right now while all these numbskulls were partying it up. I took in a deep breath, pleased about the current situation, then proceeded to free myself from these cursed ropes.

Shadow Melt …

I closed my eyes, feeling the dark shadows around me move. I focused on detangling the ropes as Luffy continued to pester me.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Shhhh!" I opened one eye to glare at him. "I'm going to escape from here."

"Oh." He replied. He looked behind me back and I knew he saw the dark energy surrounding me, slowly pulling away the ropes. His eyes widened as he gaped at me. "Sugoi! Do you have a Devil Fruit ability, too?"

"No." I said. "It's just my power." He cocked an eyebrow at me again and I just shook my head. "I'll explain it later, but right now just shut up!"

Luffy was about to say something when Nami knelt by his cage. "How ya' doin', boss?" She said with the same nasty smile she had on before. She didn't even glance my way as she spoke only to her old 'boss'.

Luffy turned his eyes to her. "Get me outta' here! And get me something to eat! I'm starving!" Nami seemed to have food already with her and dropped a chicken leg in front of him. He ate it greedily - bone and all - and smiled. "You're not so bad. Maybe I'll let you join my crew after all!" He said in between bites.

"Never!" Nami yelled. "Don't you realize what's going to happen to you? They'll probably sell you off somewhere, along with that girl over there." She pointed to me while I simply sneered at her. Oh, sure, now she notices me. "But hey, if my plans work, maybe I'll give you guys the key to the cages. Really, you don't seem so bad . . .for a pirate."

"Then let me out of here now!" Luffy shouted.

Suddenly, Buggy came out of nowhere and started laughing, holding a mug of alcohol in his hands. "You picked the wrong partner, little thief!" Could this guy be any louder?

"Partner? She's not my partner!" Luffy retorted, huffing his shoulders.

"Not anymore, eh? Can't say I blame you! She betrayed you, after all! Ha! The punishment for trying to steal my treasure is severe! I've already decided what your fate shall be!" Buggy said as he took a sip from his mug.

"Are you going to let me go?" Luffy said blankly. This kid is something else, that's for sure.

Buggy smirked. "That's right, I'm going to let you go . . .Of course I'm not going to let you go!" He turned back to his nakama and hefted his mug in the air. "Load the special Buggy Balls! Now for a demonstration of power!"

Ugh! I mentally screamed to myself as I watched the scene unfold. I hate cannons! They're too damn loud!

Buggy's crewmen loaded a giant cannonball with his ships Jolly Rodger painted on it into the cannon that was stationed in the corner of the rooftop. They pointed it towards a column of houses next to us and fired. As soon as that shot fired, the cannonball flew straight through the row of houses as easily as cutting butter with a spoon. The empty buildings all fell over like Janga blocks, nothing but debris remaining from our location to the end of the line of houses.

Even though I've seen shit like that go down before, I had to admit that it was still very impressive how a single cannonball could do so much damage in under a minute. I had to hand it to Buggy, he was powerful, but not as intimidating as he thought he was. However, Nami seemed to tremble at the sight of the decay while Luffy seemed unfazed by the occurrence. I could tell they were doubting their chances of getting free from Buggy now.

Buggy and his crew all applauded the beautiful sight of their destruction. "Breathtaking! That would have leveled for a smaller town! With these Buggy Balls - and the special powers I got from eating the Devil Fruit - I'll rule the Grand Line!" Buggy shouted in triumph.

I didn't think it was possible, but this guy's ego was as big as his silly, red rubber nose . . .And that's just sad . . .

"Now it's your turn, girlie!" Buggy continued, turning to Nami with that same evil grin on his face. "Prove your loyalty by blowing your former boss into mincemeat with this Buggy Ball!" He then pointed the cannon over towards Luffy's cage. Unfortunately, I was also in the line of shot - crud. "Show me you're ruthless enough to help me take over the world! Kill your former boss!"

I glanced at Luffy, who sat perfectly still, not blinking, not saying a word. He stared at the backstabbing girl expectantly and just waited as she stuttered.

"You want me to . . .k-kill him? Th-that's okay, Captain Buggy . . .I don't need to do that . . .Hey, let's just drink some more instead!? Let's forget about that loser!" She smiled brightly, beads of sweat slinking down her forehead as she tried to reason with her new captain.

Buggy wasn't having any of it though. He looked at her with a dead serious expression. If looks could kill, Nami, along with her departed soul, would have died five times over repeatedly. Buggy's voice was low and commanding. "DO IT."

Of course the cheerful remarks from the rest of the crew didn't help Nami either as she continued to sweat bullets. "Do it! Now! Blow him to pieces! Blast him! Blast him! Blow him apart! Do it! Blow him to pieces! Blast him! Do it! Blow 'im to pieces!"

I began to wonder if she was really going to obey Buggy or not, but my train of thought was derailed when I felt my cage being roughly moved by a tough looking pirate member. My cage was then dragged over just far away enough so I wouldn't get hit by the cannon ball. I looked at Buggy as he smirked at me. "I'll deal with you in just a moment, girlie."

He turned his attention back to Nami, who was still shaking in her boots. "NAMI! Stop stalling and light the cannon!" I could tell he noticed how she shook, the box of matches rattling in her hands. "Your hands are shaking."

I then heard Luffy chuckle. "That's what you get for going up against pirates unprepared!"

"Unprepared!?" Nami shrieked. "You mean not being prepared to kill someone like it's nothing? Is that what 'prepared' means to a pirate?"

"No." Luffy replied bluntly. "It means being prepared to risk your own life!"

I would have applauded Luffy for his amazing words of wisdom if I hadn't tried to look still tied up. The ropes had fallen away long ago and were now hanging loosely around my chest. I just hoped Buggy hadn't realized that I was getting ready to escape. But I had to admit that I was really enjoying the show between the straw hat boy and the girl thief. I wonder what their personal relationship is?

One of the Buggy Pirates grew tired of Nami's stalling and snatched the matchbox away from her. "What'sa matter, new girl?! Don't ya' know how to fire a cannon?" Nami stealthily reached for something on her thigh. "It's easy. Just put the flame to the fuse, and-" Nami then smacked the pirate upside the head with a bo-staff.

Smart girl, I thought.

Everyone - literally, everyone - froze as the pirate went down. Cold silence fell over the tavern rooftop until Buggy started yelling - again. "TRAITOR! AND AFTER I WELCOMED YOU INTO MY CREW!"

Luffy grinned again. "Whoa, are you going to save me after all?"

Nami held her bo-staff in front of her in defense, getting ready to fight against the now angry crew members. "Don't be stupid!" She screamed at Luffy. "I just got carried away . . .I just don't want to become a low-down murderer like all of you! You pirates took someone dear to me . . .I'LL NEVER BECOME WHAT I HATE!"

I felt a small pang in the bottom of my gut at hearing her words. Don't worry, Nami, you're not alone on that one . . .

"Oh . . .so that's why you hate pirates." Luffy murmured. I almost laughed when he realized that the cannon was still lit and began to gnaw his way out of the bars again. "Uh-oh! I'm gonna' die!"

"Little girl, you tried to make a fool of me! FOR THAT YOU DIE!" Buggy screamed at Nami, and his crew immediately began to charge her, their weapons swinging high in the air around them. Nami fought back, missing the target most of the time. She looked back to the cannon and, from what I could tell, grabbed hold of the lit fuse. Ouch, that' gotta' hurt, but whatever floats her boat. However, her only stupid mistake was that she hadn't been watching the pirates around her as they decided to take the opportunity to use her defenselessness to their advantage.

That's dirty pool . . .

She was about to get creamed when - literally - out of fucking nowhere, a man with three katanas showed up, stopping the pirates in their tracks. "How many pirates does it take to handle one girl?" He said in a mocking tone to the Buggy Pirate Crew.

Luffy seemed to know him, though. "Zoro!" It seemed the pirates knew him, too, as they all cowered in fear, calling him Pirate Hunter Zoro. "I'm okay. Phew! I'm glad you found me! Now get me outta' here!"

"Always goofing around . . .first you fly off with a bird, and now you're playing in some cage. Baka!" Zoro responded, leaning on one of his three swords on his shoulder. He had short green hair and tan skin, three gold rings dangling from his left ear. He wore a white shirt, black pants, black boots, and a green haramaki tied around his waist. A black bandana was wrapped around his left bicep, probably there for easy use when he fights. Yep, he's definitely a swordsman.

I decided that now would be a good time to make my escape while the pirates were all focused on Nami the traitor. I slipped the ropes off, circling them around my black boots in case I needed it again, and grabbed hold of the cage bars. I focused again, allowing the shadows surround the cage engulf me in darkness.

Shadow Melt …

I released a breath as the bars melted carefully under my grasp, hot liquid dripped onto my pale fingers. The steaming heat of the bars soon dissipated and I opened my eyes to see that the bars had vanished. I managed to crawl through the new hole in the cage, crouching low so the pirates wouldn't see me as I snuck away.

"Oi, Kori!" I turned to see Luffy glaring at me. "Can you at least get me outta' here, too?!"

That was all it took for the entire pirate crew to draw their attention from the swordsman to me. Buggy sent his masochistic grin my way, growling as he spoke. "And where do you think you're going, little girl?"

"Fuck, thanks Luffy!" I spat, trying to keep calm in the present situation. I turned back to Buggy, who had begun to saunter over towards me. I was then forced to circle around him and somehow ended up near the pirate hunter guy and the thief near the cannon. Shit, now I'm trapped in the middle with these weirdos.

Buggy smirked at the green-haired swordsman. "So, you're Roronoa Zoro, eh? You must have come to capture me!" Big head.

"I gave up pirate hunting." Zoro responded. "I have no interest in you."

"Well, I am interested in you. Killing you will be a nice feather in my cap." He pulled out several long daggers, twirling them between his fingers. If he thought that those puny knives were going to work against a swordsman who clearly practiced Santoryu, then he had another thing coming. However, they don't call him Buggy the Immortal for nothing . . .

Shit, this is gonna' get messy.

In a flash, Zoro had cut Buggy into three pieces without even a drop of blood staining the ground. I stared, wondering what little trick Buggy would have up his sleeve if he had been 'cut down' that easily. The others seemed to voice my opinion as the Buggy clowns just began to chuckle. I snapped back to reality when I heard my name being called.

"Kori!" Luffy screamed from the cage. Zoro leaned over him, muttering something as he glanced me over. "Can you get the cage open?"

I sighed, but walked over. "Yeah, sure, why not." I took a deep breath as I gripped the bars in my grasp once again. I heard Zoro question what I was about to do, but I merely huffed in response. I looked at Luffy seriously. "You're gonna' want to lean back, trust me." I then began to melt cage bars with the dark magic around me.

Shadow Melt …

I was only half done with my work when I heard Luffy mutter something. "Those guys are kinda' creepy." Obviously he was talking about the freakish jokers who were all laughing their asses off, and I knew it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

My assumption was correct when I heard a very loud grunt next to me. Zoro dropped to his knees, a knife plunged straight through his stomach. The Buggy Pirates all continued to laugh as the hand that stabbed Zoro floated in midair. Unfortunately, since I had also let my guard down trying to open up the cage for Luffy, I then felt pain in my lower middle. I looked down to see a similar knife plunged straight through my stomach as well.

"Zoro!? Kori!?" Luffy shouted in panic. My hands dropped from the bars and landed on my open wound. I heard Buggy laughing behind us, most likely putting himself back together again, and then began to monologue.

"The Chop-Chop Fruit! That's the Devil Fruit that I ate! You can slice and dice me, but you can't kill me! I'm a Chop-Chop man! Roronoa Zoro, you never had a chance! Looks like I missed your vitals, but you still took a serious wound!" He snickered and looked at me. "I told you I'd get you back, ya' little twerp! And I finally remembered who you are! Kori the Pariah!"

Silence fell on the rooftop for merely a moment before the entire Buggy crew - minus Buggy himself - began to shriek in terror. Urgent whispers soon found their way through the crowd of outlaws as the men gazed at me in horror. "Kori the Pariah! The rouge girl who blew up that Marine base?" More nonsense gossip was passed around about my reputation, but I soon tuned them out. I had already heard the rumours that circulated around the world about my dangerous past, so why bother hearing about it again?

I turned back to Buggy and growled at him. "That's not my name, ya' fucking big nose!"

Buggy's face grew dark as everyone around us shrieked in surprise. Next thing I knew Buggy was charging at me with the same knife he used to stab me with. "YOU DARE TO CALL ME 'BIG NOSE'!?" It flew at me with incredible speed, but I was faster and managed to jump out of the way just in time. I forgot that Luffy was behind me, though, so the knife had hit him instead. Shit, now I feel bad . . .

I heard a crack and looked up to see Luffy holding the knife in his mouth, snapping it in two. "I swear . . .I'm gonna' kick your ass!"

Buggy just seemed amused by his antics. "Heh heh, kick my ass?" He roared with laughter. "Don't you make me laugh! You four are about to die!"

"How did I get mixed up with you guys?" I murmured. "I'm not even in your stupid crew."

Luffy laughed hysterically. "No way! I'm not gonna' die!"

"And just how do you intend to kick my ass now? Ain't that a laugh, boys?" Buggy boasted as the entire group of clowns broke down laughing.

"Zoro! Nami! Kori!" I twitched, annoyed with Luffy's loud, screaming voice. "RUN!"

"WHAT?" Nami shrieked. "I'm not going anywhere! We're trying to save you! They'll kill you the moment we go!" Leave it to Nami to say the wrong thing.

So, it seemed only Zoro and I got what the straw hat kid was trying to say. "Gotcha'." Zoro replied, then proceeded to shift the cannon away from us. Nami stood her ground, shocked at what he was doing. He managed to push the cannon completely over to the other side, so it was facing the clown pirates. They all immediately started flipping out. "THE BIG CANNON'S POINTED AT US! AND IT'S LOADED WITH ONE OF THE BUGGY BALLS!"

Zoro turned to Nami. "Light this thing!" She nodded, picking the matchbox back up and hastily lighted lit the fuse. The cannon was then fully able to blow those bastards to smithereens! After a minute the cannon blew up, along with the Buggy Pirates, I hoped.

Zoro ran over to where we were - 'we' being Luffy, Nami, and I - and panted in exhaustion. "Now's your chance to escape." He paused, staring at me and Nami. "Who are you guys, anyway?"

"I'm . . .a thief." Nami replied sheepishly.

"Kori." Was all I said.

"Actually . . .they're our new nakama!" Luffy said boldly, that freakishly big grin once again adorning his baby face.

Nami totally spazzed out. "What are you talking about!? Are you crazy? And shouldn't you be trying to get out of that cage?" Apparently she didn't want the job, either.

"Oh, yeah. Maybe you're right . . .Kori?" He gave me those lame pleading eyes of his. "A little help?"

I snorted. "Later. Right now we gotta' get outta' here, so you just stay in the cage." I heard Zoro walk up behind me as he tried to pick up the cage. I quickly kicked him in the leg, forcing him to drop the cage on the ground.

"What'd you do that for?!" He snarled at me, gripping his leg.

I shook my head. "You're injured, so don't exert yourself. You may need your strength later." I crouched near the cage again.

"You're injured, too!" He retorted angrily. "So it wouldn't make any difference!"

If I wasn't mad before, I was now. I gave him my best basilisk glare. "I do things my own way, so don't give me any lip about it!" I then easily picked up Luffy's cage and slung it over my shoulder. Luffy was yelling at me to stop, but Zoro and Nami just gawked at me in surprise.

"How can you do that?!" Nami shrieked.

"Let's go!" I shouted as soon as I heard the pirates shifting around behind us. We all jumped over the edge of the tavern rooftop silently and disappeared out of sight.

TO BE CONTINUED

[AU: I made a few grammar and punctuation changes, as well as adding her fighting techniques.]

[AU: I know Zoro was supposed to carry the cage at the end, but I wanted Kori to show her strength in this chapter, just to get her character started and stuff. I'll update the next chapter whenever I can, as I already explained in the pre-note. I wanted to get this story started just a bit after the beginning so Kori would be able to feel more comfortable in the Straw Hat Crew, just 'cause she's not really comfortable with people in general. I'll describe more about her later on, don't worry, and I'll make sure this story stays cannon. Please review, read more, favourite the story, anything! It would be most appreciated! Signing off - ShadowManipulator7 '-.-']