FicWad

"Why do they keep staring at us like that?" Bepo asked, cocking his head to the side as he watched the women of the female island serve food to the crew. The bear looked to Summer who sat next to him. She shrugged, taking a bite of a bright orange fruit native to the island. It was surprisingly good.

"They live their whole lives without seeing men, so an entire crew of them probably makes em' a little edgy." She too had noticed the cautious and hostile glares from the island's inhabitants, though she was never a recipient. Assuming it was because she was female, she didn't bother worrying about it much.

"It's probably nothing to worry about Bepo." She said as she stretched her stiff body. Spending a few days doing nothing wasn't as great as she had thought it to be. Her body was growing accustomed to inactivity and it was starting to take its toll. Grimacing, she cradled her not-fully-healed ankle after feeling a sharp throb of pain.

The bear held a paw to his chin in thought and Summer took the opportunity to glance around. The submarine was docked on the eastern-most shore of Amazon Lily. A few of the crew looked over the little yellow ship to check for repairs. Most of them sat around on the grassy slope eating the food the natives had brought for them, conversing happily.

The island was nice enough; large, green vegetation and a thick forest were all she could see so far, even the little beach was beautiful.

'I wonder what the rest of the island is like…'

The inhabitants weren't so cheerful. Many were curious, of course, but a few angry words from the more senior women (who wanted nothing to do with the Heart Pirates or any man for that matter) made them hush up and retreat from the crew. At first it had been a small form of entertainment-watching as the men ran in fear as the warriors pulled out their bows or shouted spiteful words at them- but it quickly lost its appeal and began to irritate her.

Continuing her lazy search, she spotted Law in the middle of the clearing with Jinbe, talking quietly. Though he looked relaxed as he calmly ate his meal, Summer could see the tension in his muscles as he glanced around at the warrior women, even from this distance. True, no violence had arisen, but the uneasy truce between the two parties could break from the smallest move from either side. Before she had time to think over it any more, Summer felt a soft tap on her shoulder.

"Summer?" She turned her head to Bepo. His features were very serious when he looked at her and she became a little uneasy.

'Please, don't ask about me. I don't want to lie to you.'

"Do you know any female bears?" He asked. She relaxed instantly, relieved that his question wasn't pertaining to her past. She fought the urge to laugh, knowing that, to Bepo, this was a very serious matter. Miraculously maintaining a straight face, she smiled.

"I'm sorry, Bepo, I don't." He nodded sadly, a small frown on his face. The sight was so adorable she put her hands on her cheeks.

'So cute…'

"Ok." He looked away in silent dejection, a moment later turning to her again. "Do you think this island has female bears?"

'Aww…poor thing.'

"No, I don't think so. Maybe at the next island." He looked depressed again. She patted his head to cheer him up like it always did, and he closed his eyes in happiness. Scratching behind his ear, the way she knew he loved, she quickly turned his miserable state into one of absolute bliss. She couldn't help but smile widely. Her attention was focused on Bepo, so Summer didn't notice three women approach the tree they sat under.

"You!" One of them said, startling her. Looking up, she saw the woman pointing down at her, a glare directed straight at her. The woman's outfit was horribly skimpy, though all of their attire appeared to be that way. Her eyes were adorned with too much makeup in Summer's opinion. Small gold earrings dangled on her ears, and her black hair was tied high on her head.

One of those who stood behind her had short, spiky green hair and a plain face. The other had long blonde tresses, reaching nearly to the small of her back. All of them carried bows and were accompanied by the strange snakes all of them seemed to own. All of them wore the extremely showy outfits. None of them were smiling. Altogether, Summer didn't like them.

"Yeah?" She asked indifferently raising an eyebrow, wondering what the women wanted with her. Next to her, Bepo eyed them suspiciously. The woman's glare intensified. The two behind her looked stern as well but at least a little friendlier.

"Why do you sail with men? Do you not know the strange and horrible illnesses one can catch from these creatures?" She gestured to the crew behind her, apparently truly bewildered by Summer's situation.

"Umm…they are exactly like you, just a different gender. You're the same species as them."

"You have been brainwashed by these vile creatures, you poor soul. Men are diseased and dangerous. I am surprised you haven't been killed yet." The woman shook her head sadly, the other two following in turn. "Why do you continue on with them?" Summer sighed at the woman's opinion.

"I sail with them because…well…I kind of have to." She said, stealing a glance at Law who still sat far away in the clearing. All of the women's eyes widened, the one who spoke glancing around at the crew in revulsion. Noting their extreme expressions she rushed to clarify. "You see, I was…"

"These savages!" The woman spit in disgust, cutting off the rest of her explanation. "Forcing you to enlist under their flag, stealing you from your home no doubt. What cruelty!"

Sighing, she mentally face palmed at the woman's assumption. Summer put her hands up to stop her.

"Umm, no actually it's not…"

"They demean you by making the beast follow you around. Has dignity no value to them?" She continued. Summer frowned, pointing an accusatory finger at the native woman.

"First of all, don't call Bepo a beast. He's my friend, so watch your damn mouth. Second, you've got it all wrong." She was so irritated with the waste of air in front of her she almost overlooked what her words actually meant. Her eyes widened slightly in realization.

'I called him friend…'

'Don't get attached.' Her more reasonable side scolded her.

The woman completely ignored Summer, instead she turned to the other two and nodded sharply. Summer sat in great confusion, wondering what the heck the women were up to. The older one turned back to her.

"Will you allow us to take you to the village? We would like to show you our way of life. Perhaps that will change your mind."

"Please come with us. It pains us to see a young woman forced to work in a world of men." The one with the long golden curls finally spoke. The woman with spiky green hair remained silent.

"Why the hell should I trust any of you?" She asked as she brought her mind back to the present, slightly annoyed they thought her life was so damned terrible without knowing anything at all.

'No one can know anything about me.'

She was tired of being nothing but information, an asset to others with twisted motives and immoral methods, tired of the questions and answers that were her life, tired of being in the dark about who she was and why everyone was so damned interested in her. That train of thinking brought her back to the conversation with a certain pirate captain. She unconsciously narrowed her eyes in anger, remembering his words.

"You will join my crew."

"And why the hell would I do that?" He shrugged her obvious anger off.

"You aren't in any position to refuse. I could kill you, if that's why you want. I'd rather not though. You interest me too much." He practically purred.

As the exchange with Law resurfaced in her mind, so did another conversation with a whole other pirate captain. One from long ago though the words were as clear as day.

"You can't kill yourself, love." He said after another of her unsuccessful attempts on her life. Holding her by the collar of her thin shirt, he brought her closer to his face. His putrid breath caused her to gag, cutting off precious air. The smirk grew wider as she struggled, feet dangling as she twisted and turned in his grasp.

"Shut up!" She spit with difficulty. "Let go!" He laughed, a low, disgusting rumble in his throat. His grin never left his damned face.

"There are people interested in you. Powerful people. They are the only ones who understand what you are. We don't want to disappoint them now, do we?"

She shook her head to clear the dark thoughts.

"Will you come with us?" The women were still waiting for an answer, staring down at her. She wasn't sure what she should do. Law wouldn't let her out of Bepo's sight, much less allow her to frolic through the thick forest with men-hating women.

'Since when did you care what he wanted?' She thought.

Looking back up, she settled her face into an indifferent mask. Nodding, she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her pants.

"Alright, show me your village." The eldest woman nodded and the four turned towards the forest.

"Summer?" She looked back at Bepo who had his head tilted and an uncertain expression. "I was given orders to watch you so I'm coming with you." She smiled at his insecurity.

"Alright you can-"

"No!" The sudden outburst from the green-haired woman made her jump in surprise, cutting off her sentence. Hard eyes glared at Bepo, she had her bow in her hands but it remained undrawn at this point. Summer had no doubt that she could have it pointed at the poor bear in less than a second.

"But the captain-"

"No." She repeated with equal heat. "No man has ever set foot on this island since the beginning of its existence. We shall not break that rule now." Summer rolled her eyes at the ridicules mindset of every inhabitant of the island. Sighing, she gave Bepo a slanted smile.

"It's alright, Bepo. I won't be gone long. I'll be fine." The bear looked away and wrung his paws together, eventually reluctantly nodding his head.

"Alright, but don't do anything dangerous. I'm supposed to be protecting you." She nodded, turning back to the forest and walked into the thick foliage with the three women.