NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: This Encounter was Fate
This encounter was surely fated to happen.
Ten years before the dawning of the Great Pirate Era, an event occurred marking the first meeting between the man who would come to be called the "Pirate King" and the young girl who would be known as the "Thunderous Ice Empress."
***
Breathing deeply in the chilled air, a man felt the morning arrive amidst the dense sea fog. "Cold today," he remarked to the lookout on watch, splashing his face with frigid water. Tousling his shaggy blonde locks back into a ponytail, he returned to the deck.
"Heavy fog. Will we be alright?" he asked a crew mate.
"Aye, no reefs to worry about in these waters," a man replied.
"I see, but...hm?"
"What is it, First Mate?"
The man called First Mate stood at the railing, peering down at something. A small iceberg must have bumped against the hull with a quiet thud, he realized with relief that no damage had been done. Such impacts could punch holes and sink ships if they weren't careful.
"Keep a weather eye!" he shouted up to the lookout, then leapt over onto the iceberg itself, blade in hand to smash it apart.
"...Well now."
Sprawled atop the ice floe was an unconscious girl, her body drenched in blood.
He placed two fingers against her neck, confirming a faint pulse. Her wounds seemed grave, though, compounded by exposure to the extreme chill which risked hypothermia if not treated promptly.
"Open a cabin, we've an injured aboard!" he bellowed.
"Injured? Out here in the middle of the ocean!?"
Carrying the battered girl inside, the First Mate swiftly tended her wounds with crisp efficiency. Wiping the blood from her face revealed striking beauty - glossy black tresses, finely sculpted features, porcelain skin. Her tattered dress could scarcely be called clothes anymore, shredded with one sleeve hanging open to expose a broken arm.
"What's all this ruckus at the break of day?" A boisterous voice boomed as a man with a strawhat barged into the cabin. "Heard you picked up some stray oddity!"
"Shut it," the First Mate chided. "Seems a castaway. Injuries like these, she was likely set upon by pirates."
The two men exchanged a knowing smirk - the irony wasn't lost on them.
With the most urgent care given, he noticed her eyelids fluttering despite unconsciousness. Not wanting to cause further distress, the First Mate quietly shooed the others away to break their fasts, reasoning she would awaken properly after some rest.
Once alone, he addressed her directly. "I know you're awake. Didn't want the rowdy lot disturbing you further after such an ordeal."
"...You noticed," a weary voice answered.
"Hard not to with you so on-guard. Can't blame the wariness around pirates - some scoundrels would take liberties with an injured lass."
"In this state, dealing with your whole crew would be a bother. I planned to pick you off one-by-one," she said matter-of-factly.
He let out a chuckle. "You've a scary streak, lass. But let's start over - I'm Silvers Rayleigh. Your name?"
"...Kanata."
"Well then Kanata, what had you adrift in these winter seas?"
She shook her head. "I wasn't adrift. Merely fleeing from an island when my injuries overtook me."
Rayleigh nodded understandingly, not prying further. "You must be famished. Let me fetch something hearty yet easy on your stomach."
"...Thank you."
With a sly grin, he replied, "Just preserving a future beauty is all," and stepped out, leaving Kanata alone with her thoughts.
(I survived, but only barely...Sengoku, you meant to kill me, not capture.)
Dull aches pulsed through her battered body, muscles screaming from sheer exhaustion - without rest, she would be immobile. Narrowly avoiding mortal wounds, the blood-soaked tatter pile that was once her dress proved how dire her condition had been before Rayleigh's rescue.
She had regained consciousness while carried aboard but played possum, lacking the strength to resist while also deeming ship infiltration easier than open combat against unknown numbers for now.
(But if this is Silvers Rayleigh's vessel, then that means...)
The cabin door flew open, a ruggedly handsome man in a strawhat barging in to plop down uninvited.
"Aye, awake I see!"
Rayleigh followed with a modest meal, setting the tray on a bedside table as Kanata sat up gingerly. She detected no malice as he draped a large shirt over her underwear-clad form, preserving some dignity.
While slowly eating the hearty fare, she fielded questions from the boisterous one.
"Where ya sail from, lass?"
"Marx Island is my home base. Until recently, I was in the Kingdom of Flowers."
"Kano Country to out here's a fair piece. How'd you cover such a trip?"
She gave a tongue-in-cheek reply. "Walked across the sea."
The two men guffawed at the absurd notion until Rayleigh seemed to recognize something. "Ah, if your base is Marx Island...you wouldn't happen to be affiliated with the rising merchant house Georges Trading? I hear that there is an increase in business with Kano Country, and you are frequently going back and forth."
"...You're well-informed. I work under their employ, yes."
"Then your ship must've been set upon by pirates or the like if you were making stops in Kano."
"No, it wasn't that..." she trailed off, wary of providing details that could prove troublesome if news was spreading already.
While doubting the evening's events made this morning's broadsheets, her new bounty couldn't be discounted. Speaking too freely around pirates, even genial ones, risked her life if they valued the notoriety over their debt to her.
Sensing her guardedness, the strawhatted man shifted tone. "If you'd rather not say, no need to force it. We can ferry you back to Marx if you prefer."
"...You're unexpectedly kind."
He laughed boisterously. "Just been betwixt grand adventures as of late!"
"Which works in our favor," Rayleigh added with a smirk.
Kanata found herself smiling faintly at the over-the-top display, her tenseness easing. The two men grinned back as if relieved by her thawing demeanor.
"There, see? Pretty when you smile - do that more instead of scowling, lassie!"
"I'm fifteen. Hardly a 'lassie' anymore."
"To us, you're still a pipsqueak!"
They continued their lighthearted banter until Rayleigh sensed others lingering curiously outside and left to shoo them off, leaving Kanata alone with the strawhatted rogue.
"You may want to avoid Marx Island for a spell," she warned him.
He quirked a brow. "Oh aye? And why's that?"
"I'd wager the Navy's vessels have the island surrounded by now, looking to capture me."
His easygoing smile turned pensive, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "You don't seem the dishonest sort... But why would the Navy blockade for one person?"
A flicker of cold determination passed over Kanata's eyes. "To seize me. Getting too involved could paint a target on your backs as well."
Roger waved a dismissive hand. "Globetrotters like us are used to that from ol' Garp the Fist!"
She knew the name - Garp the Hero, the Marine who defeated the Rocks Pirates, yet remained unable to capture this notorious crew after all this time. An impressive feat by any measure, and her instincts confirmed this man was no pushover despite her depleted state.
A sly grin crept across her face. "How'd you like to add me to your ranks then?"
Roger's eyes widened briefly before bellowing a hearty laugh. "You've got nerve, I'll give you that! But why not?"
"...I'll pass."
"What, why? You're a damned wanted woman now!"
"True, but I still have comrades awaiting me. I can't abandon them."
He nodded, seeming to appreciate her candor. "Aye, fair enough then."
Respecting her refusal, he asked, "So where we setting course? Got a rendezvous point plotted with your mates?"
"Make for Ohara's vicinity. We'll be able to regroup thereabouts."
Kanata and her crew had agreed that they would meet up near Ohara, but she didn't know if they would be able to meet up until she got there.
It was a rough rendezvous point, but if they do it poorly and rendezvous on some island, there was a possibility that the World Government would come to suspect a connection. That was why she originally didn't want to approach Ohara, but there was someone she really wanted to say goodbye to.
"To Ohara it is! Yo, ya swabs - prepare to set sail!" Smiling, Roger threw open the door and decided on his captain's authority to head straight for O'Hara.
The sailors, including Rayleigh, started changing the ship's direction without complaining, probably because they had no particular purpose to go to.
Kanata was filled with gratitude for the good fortune of being rescued by such kind sailors.
***
The journey to Ohara's waters didn't take more than a two day's sail. During that time, Roger's all-male crew took turns visiting the recovering Kanata, partly to indulge their curiosity about the woman in their midst.
Her new bounty poster had made quite a spectacle when published the day after her rescue, to raucous reactions.
"Would you look at that - some pipsqueak of a lass packing a bounty over 300 million berries!"
"World's got no sense left, I tell ya!"
In truth, the listed crimes of slaughtering Sengoku's naval escort, decimating an entire port on Kano Country, and assassinating the World Noble St. Chrysaor resulted in a staggering 300 million allowance by the World Government's standards.
Kanata casually explained away the blown-out-of-proportion allegations. "I refused to hand my comrades over as slaves to that Celestial bastard, so I killed his guards. The port was collateral from fighting another Devil Fruit user. As for Sengoku, let's just say I'm lucky to be alive from that bout."
Indeed, without Rayleigh's rescue, her injuries would have proven fatal. She hoped to one day repay the life debt, but for now...
"Still, surviving a scrap with ol' Sengoku? Hugely impressive!" Roger insisted. "C'mon, join my crew already!"
Another refusal prompted a playful ice shard flick to Roger's forehead that rolled down to Rayleigh's feet.
"A Devil's Fruit, eh? Rare around these waters," he mused.
She shrugged. "Not so much the wider Grand Line, I'm told. Seems your luck hasn't run that way yet."
Roger crossed his arms contemplatively. "Must be it - haven't encountered many Fruits myself despite facing plenty of bigshot users like Whitebeard or Shiki."
Having sailed primarily the second half of the Grand Line nicknamed the "New World," his encounters with Devil Fruit wielders like those two powerhouses proved seldom until now.
"Maybe our paths will cross again once I reach the Grand Line proper with my mates," Kanata offered.
"As enemies then, I reckon?"
She smirked. "Hardly. You saved my life - I won't forget that debt."
As a gesture of goodwill, she provided him a Transponder Snail frequency in case they ever required aid, making no promises it would be answered but ensuring some thread wasn't permanently severed between them.
***
As Ohara's island came into view, Kanata took a moment on the quarterdeck. "Thank you, truly. I'd have perished without your aid."
Roger grinned widely. "Just happy to help a future beauty! Let's meet again sometime when you've blossomed properly, yah?"
"And we shall welcome you then as well," Rayleigh added.
The crew jovially echoed the sentiment, prompting a small chuckle from Kanata who quickly disembarked lest overstaying make parting too difficult.
"Wait, she's a Devil's Fruit user - she can't swim!" voices cried as she leapt over the rails.
They watched, dumbstruck, as her feet touched the waves yet remained suspended above the surface. "I ate the Ice-Ice Fruit. Walking on water's no issue."
With a few chagrined laughs and muttered curses about 'giving us heart attacks,' they saw her ashore waving farewell.
"So long! Next time, the Grand Line!"
Roger gave a boisterous send-off. "You'd better be a proper beauty by then, missy!"
She shook her head in amusement but waved until the ship crested the horizon. Now it was time to reunite with her comrades, but first she needed to bid adieu to old acquaintances like Professor Clover...and Olvia most of all.
(Note: This takes place before Buggy and Shanks joined.)