From the Sea, the Crooked One Shall Rise

Chapter Three

"Woah! That's so cool!" Hina Zhao's eyes widened in awe. She bounced up and down, her black hair bouncing in the breeze. "A talking polar bear? I've never seen or heard of that before!" Hina's eyes were full of awe and wonder as she zipped around Bepo, looking him over. She levitated over the ground ever so slightly. She seemed to have a golden glow to her, her eyes a warm fiery orange. Her skin was golden tan, her hair ebony black. She wore a red and gold hanfu dress, the upper body red with gold floral designs, the skirt a cream gold color. On her feet were black lace up heeled combat boots.

"Hmm, you're not a monster, right? I mean, if you were, you'd have already tried to kill me," the woman frowned to herself, shaking her head. "Are you okay?" she asked Bepo, noticing some of his fur splotched red with blood. "They didn't hurt you, did they?" Behind Hina were the bodies of a full marine platoon, all of them beaten and knocked unconscious. Around Hina' waist was a rope dart and a whip with imperial gold at the end.

"Sorry," Bepo instinctively replied, looking down. "The marines didn't hurt me." He got to his feet and dusted off his orange jumpsuit. "Thank you for saving me. What's your name?" he asked Hina, tilting his head to the side.

Hina blinked at Bepo. "Oops, must have forgotten. I'm Hina Zhao, but my mother would like for me to say I'm Zhao Hina." The girl rambled on. "Though, my father doesn't care how I introduce myself." Her fiery eyes glanced up at the sun and waved.

"Bepo!" another voice yelled. Hina turned toward the ocean to see a man in a black jacket carrying a sword with white crosses on the sheath running at them. He had pale golden eyes. Hina tensed slightly, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head slightly. His eyes were a cold gold. This man's eyes weren't the same cold eyes.

"Captain!" Bepo brightened up. He was happy to see his Captain. "I'm okay!" He ran to his Captain, hugging the man. "Ms Zhao took down the marines." The polar bear mink turned his head back to Hina. Hina gave them a small wave.

"You saved Bepo?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow. "What do you want?" he asked her, narrowing his eyes.

"Huh?" Hina gaped and tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"What do you want in return for saving my navigator?" the man grit his teeth as he repeated his question. He hated when people acted dumb.

Hina blinked incredulously. "I don't want anything," she spoke slowly. "I helped your...navigator," she gazed at Bepo, "because it was the right thing to do?" She picked at the rope dart wrapped around her waist. The imperial gold had blood on it. "Besides, he didn't attack me the moment he saw me," she smiled brightly.

The man gave her a suspicious look. "What's your name?"

"You first and maybe I'll do the same," Hina smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Trafalgar Law," Trafalgar Law narrowed his eyes as he said his name. "Captain of the Heart Pirates. Now, your name."

"Zhao Hina," Hina smiled, extending her hand for a handshake that Law didn't reciprocate. Hina's smile faltered and she brought her hand back. "I'm..." she hesitated, looking around. "Not sure where I am." Her eyes met Law's. "Where am I?"

Law's head dipped slightly in surprise. "You don't know where you are?" he scoffed. "Where are you from?"

"The Andro–" She cut herself off, fist clenching. "The last thing I remember was being with my cousin and best friend," she muttered, narrowing her eyes as she searched her memories. "The three of us were messing around and Polaris fell into the water. Darcel and I jumped in after him and I woke up here."

Hina peered up at Law. "I need to find them," she determined, smirking. "I take back what I said."

"What are you talking about?" Law fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. He had half a mind to just tell Hina she was insane and leave, yet he was intrigued by her. Sure, she acted insane but something was off about her. She was too smart to be insane and she was hiding something. The surgeon of death had caught her slip up when she started to say Andromeda.

Hina stared at Law, her former playfulness fading. "You asked me what I wanted for saving your navigator," she smirked triumphantly. "I said nothing. Now, I want something." She stepped forward. Even though Law towered over her small five foot five frame, Hina stood tall and proud. "I want you to help me find Darcel and Polaris."

Law's jaw clenched. "And why would I do that?" he retorted, golden eyes growing cold. Hina forced herself to stay undeterred.

"Because I saved your navigator. I'm a fighter." She gestured to the blood stained imperial gold. "And you can benefit from that." Her eyes flashed dangerously. "You seem like the type of man who wants something. So, what do you want, Trafalgar Law?"

Trafalgar Law huffed, a smile becoming evident on his face. "You are quite the enigma, Ms Zhao." He switched Kikoku to his other shoulder. "I'm intrigued by you." The Surgeon of Death stepped in front of Hina, looking down at her. "I'll allow you to sail with me for the time being. However, double cross me, hurt my crew, or even think about getting one over on me, and I'll make you regret it."

Hina dipped her head. "I'll agree to the terms as long as you do your best to help me find Polaris and Darcel." She held out her hand again for a handshake. "Come on. Seal the deal with a handshake. Be professional, Captain Trafalgar Law." She smiled brightly and playfully. "Come on!" she egged.

Law scowled and sighed heavily. Hina was insistent and she reminded him of Luffy. Though, Luffy was much, much worse than Hina. "Fine," he grumbled, shaking hands with her. "Welcome aboard the Heart Pirates."

Hina's eyes lit up, her jaw dropping. "The Heart Pirates? Ah! Lev and Cora would love you! So would Drew and any of the love children! Is the name for the aesthetic or are you all love children?" With each question, Hina got closer and closer, bubbly personality shining through her former seriousness.

"Love childr–what? NO!" Trafalgar Law's eye twitched and he could already feel a migraine coming on. Suddenly, he was beginning to regret his deal with Hina. "What are you talking about?"

"Love children..." Hina slowly repeated, sighing heavily. "Nevermind, you wouldn't know." She shook her head. "Well then, show me your ship! I bet it's cool!" She bounced on the soles of her feet. "Those tattoos are interesting, too!" She read the 'DEATH' tattoos on his knuckles. 'Lorelai would love those and Azreal would have copied them.'

"Right," Law shook his head. "Come on." He turned heel and started walking back to the Polar Tang. Bepo treaded on Law's heels and Hina came up the back. She stepped over the bleeding bodies, pausing to look down at them.

'They don't look like monsters...so why would this work on them?' Hina glanced at her rope dart and down at the marines. "Weird," she mumbled to herself and trailed after Law and Bepo. She eyed the back of Law's head. "Double weird," she mumbled once more as she took in their previous conversation.

'Don't worry. I'm coming, guys.'