Protectors [One Piece Fanfiction]

The Girl's Past

The Girl's Past

"Remember to always smile, Irin,"

"Always be nice to everyone, okay?"

"Mama! What's wrong?! Don't close your eyes!"

"Run away, Irin! Live freely... Be happy!"

"What are you saying, Mama? I don't wanna go anywhere!"

"Go! Run, Irin!"

The exchange between the mother and her daughter was heartbreaking. Young Irin didn't understand what was going on, all she knew was that pirates had raided her village out of nowhere and her mother was dying. Her mother was dying from protecting her and yet she could not fulfill her mother's wish for her to run away. 

The older woman, Rina, crouched over her daughter, Irin, while bleeding out from a wound on her stomach which she held onto to try to stop the bleeding. "Go, Irin!" Rina scolded, as she pushed her daughter away but the young girl did not budge an inch. Irin did not want to move despite the dangerous pirates nearing her, "No, Mama! We have to go together!" she protested, tears streaming down her face. She did not want to leave her mother, she loved her mother. She wanted to protect her mother, but she couldn't...

Rina brought her weak hands to her daughter's face to wipe her tears away and to feel her one last time before she faded into deep slumber. The pirate that massacred their village was nearing the mother and daughter duo. It was silent, everyone from the village was dead besides the two and it would soon be reduced to one, then none. Rina could hear the pirates walking closer, she held her daughter in her arms one last time and said,

"I love you, Irin! Save people with your-"

She was not able to finish her sentence because a long deep gash grew along the woman's back. The pirate had struck Rina on her back, killing her as she protected her child.

"Mama!!!" Irin cried, but she had no time to mourn.

The pirate raised his sword up, ready to strike the young girl. Irin closed her eyes tight, awaiting the impact but it never came. 

Instead, she heard the clanking sound of swords clashing against each other. She slowly opened her eyes, seemingly cautious, as though she was afraid of the limitless possibility of what kind of terror that would grace her eyes if she opened them. When Irin opened her eyes, in front of her stood a red-haired man holding his sword out and blocking the pirate's sword from slashing her. The girl scrambled away in fear and hid behind a building that was about 50 metres away from her mother's dead body.

"Oi oi... What do you think you're doing?" the red-haired man spoke, questioning the small-time pirate, "Were you planning to kill a harmless little girl?" he continued, as his eyes flickered towards the pirate's eyes, glaring at him. "R-R-Red Haired Shanks!" the small-time pirate exclaimed as he fell unconscious from Shank's Conqueror's Haki, 

"Well, now that that's done... What do we have here?" Shanks turned to look for the little girl he saved only to spot her hiding behind a building. Irin was a rather brave girl, she came out from her hiding spot and walked towards her mother's unmoving body. She wanted to cry but she hated crying in front of people, she was, however, a cry baby, she just hated to show it.

"Kid... Your mother..."

Irin knew. She knew her mother was dead, her mother was a doctor and she taught her well. Irin was also quite a mature child, though she could be very hard headed at times.