One Piece (SSW Backstory)

Chapter 23

Saphira's POV

It's been a couple of days since we've arrived on this island. And Ralph was right, it was a place for the rich. Everywhere we looked, there were people in expensive looking clothes. There was an obvious difference between here and where we came from. For example, the streets of Dung were always covered in filth and homeless people. Here, the streets were clean and there wasn't a homeless person in sight.

Another thing we noticed was the amounts of shops and resturaunts they have. We were walking down the streets, looking through every shop's window with awe. This must have been the millionth time we've walked down these streets, but we never seem to get used to the things this place had to offer. Winifred stopped me in my tracks to point at something she saw through a shop window. The first thing I noticed was the sweet and delicious smells coming from the store. I squint my eyes to get a better look.

"It looks so yummy..." Winifred was litterally drooling as her eyes sparkled at the delicious looking treats desplayed at the window. I felt my stomach growl as I drooled at the sight too. "Yeah, they look tasty..." A harsh tug on my arm snapped me out of my trance. "Hey, keep up! We got stuff to do." Ralph was more angry today than yesterday. I didn't even have the energy to fight with him. Three days ago, when we got here, Ralph announced that we immediatly start looking for jobs. Well, Ralph, Charlie, Mikey and I aren't old enough to get jobs, but some people don't care about age.

Silver and Winifred are way too young to get jobs. If anything, we all should still be in school. But, life let us down. Ralph went into every business, like shops and restraunts, to ask for a job. So far, we didn't have much luck. It's obvious that these people don't take kindly to street rats. When I look at the local kids, with clean clothes and toys in hand skipping down the streets with their parents not far behind them, I could tell we won't get any chances here.

Ralph must have noticed this too, for when the day turned to night and we returned to the alley we dubbed our home, he made something clear to us. "This is a waist of time! No one is going to accept us here because of how we look." He was pacing up and down the alley as the rest of us was sitting against the wall. "This was a mistake..." He didn't intend for someone to hear that but I did. I sigh as I felt my stomach cramp in hunger. We were all hungry.

"I have an idea, but you might not like it." Mikey stood up and looked nervous. Ralph frowned but motioned for him to continue. "When we were looking for jobs the other day, I spotted a group of pirates sitting at one of the local bars." I furrowed my own brows as I already didn't like where this was going. "I snuck in and listened in on their conversations, and... guys, I think we should become pirates!" I almost felt bad for what I was going to say when I saw his bright smile. "No." Ralph and I echoed the answer and Mikey deflated a bit, but still looked determined to convince us.

"Wait! Listen first. I heard them talking about all these cool things. They go on these big adventures and see new places everyday. And the best part is, they do whatever they want because they are pirates!" Ralph shakes his head, "That's the problem Mikey, they are pirates. They do whatever they want because they don't care about the law. And the worst is, they hurt people while doing it." I nod my head along to show that I was on Ralph's side with this one. Mikey groaned as he tries to think of something else to say to convince us.

"If they can do whatever they want, doesn't that mean they can eat whatever they want, too?" I was surprised to see Winifred's interest in this topic. Mikey beamed that someone seemed to understand him. "Yes, exactly! We can eat, wear and do whatever we want! Come on guys, this is the best option we have." Ralph sighed in aggitation, "No means no, Mikey! Did you ever think why pirates are feared and hated everywhere? Or why they are wanted by the marines?" Mikey didn't look bothered but he seemed to see that it was going to be harder to convince us then he thought.