Disco Village

It was almost noon when the young boy woke up. His attitude had turned back to what it was when Garp and Sengoku first saw him, but he seemed more sure of himself. Right now the boy was looking around, curious about his whereabouts.

"Excuse me mam, may I ask where I am?" As the son of the Village leader, he must know how to show respect. Trouble comes to everyone, but those who know how to avoid trouble will be hard to give trouble to. His mother had taught her this lesson, and his father showed exactly what not to do. In his own way, he was also able to teach his son about avoiding unnecessary trouble.

"Well, sonny, you're here in Disco Village. Home of the Disco Pioneers and my famous Apple Pie!"

Donna placed her woven cloth on the ground, giving the young boy a smile. She stood up from her seat before picking up a small plate from the desk beside the boy, one that had a piece of Apple Pie on it.

"This here is the best Apple Pie in the whole of North Blue! My baby boy loves it so much that he made his momma a restaurant to 'share it to the world', haha."

Donna sat on Akatora's bed, presenting it to him. His face was sweating from the uncertainty of the situation. He asked where he was because he really didn't know, and the woman didn't feel dangerous at all. But it still stands to reason that he really shouldn't just eat some woman's handouts.

"Um, mam, I need to get back home. My family is probably looking for me."

Scratching his head, Akatora gently declined her offer of pie. Though the woman didn't seem to be offended, she did have a shocked look on her face.

"Your family, child? Do you know where they are?"

Akatora was now confused as well. He remembers being with his family just a moment ago, and sleeping on the boat where they left the village from. In fact, his mother should have been letting him rest on her thighs.

"We left the village, when the pirates attacked. They said that they would let us g- Ahhh! No!"

Akatora held his head between his knees. It hurts so much, but he could definitely feel that something was wrong. He wasn't sent on a boat with his family. That wasn't true at all!

"Huh?"

The pain gradually lessened, and Akatora looked up to see that the old lady's hand had been gently caressing his head. Her gentle smile caused a few cracks on Akatora's heart, one that had long been steeled. To protect his mind from the pain.

"If it's in the past, then we cannot change it. Sonny, you have got to learn to accept it. If you don't, then you would have wasted the opportunity your parents gave you."

Donna kept on caressing the boy's head as Akatora wept. He remembers everything now, all the hate and regret he felt when he saw his mother's lifeless corpse. How she was 'eaten' by that monster. How they made him clean the deck everyday while they violate and fornicate all day. It was only due to his father's sacrifice that he was able to escape their grasp, only to fall on another monster's grasp.

"But... My family! He took them away from me! My village! My home!"

Akatora weakly wept and cried out in pain. His body was actually burning up, slightly glowing brighter as he continued. Thankfully Donna placed one hand on the boy's chest, and his transformation stopped immediately.

"Would crying here all day do anything about it? Right now, that man is drifting on the seas. Destroying more villages and massacring men and women as we speak. The monster didn't stop when you left, he probably didn't even care."

Donna could feel that the boy was trembling. Her Memo-Memo fruit grants her the ability to manipulate memories, allowing her to ease the boy into unlocking his repressed memories. It was also the reason that the World Government protects her village.

"Then what do I do now?"

Akatora felt confused. His life seems to have been taken away from him by something he cannot even fight. His family was gone, he knew that for certain. So what does the Tiger Heir do without any Tiger Village?

"You just answered your own question."

"?"

"If you don't know what to do, then make something out of your life. You say you lost your family?"

Donna looked at the boy with a mysterious smile. Although the boy might look weak right now, she knew better than anyone how strong this boy is. How he could last a year in the madman's ship, even when he suffers those dreadful abuses everyday. He will be a fine man when he grows older, hopefully she lasts long enough to see it.

"Join us, and let us be your family."

"Us? Who?"

Akatora sat up, looking at Donna in the eyes with his teary-eyed expression. He looked like he was able to see a light at the end of this long years of darkness.

"Us, boy."

Sengoku was there when the boy woke up, but he didn't immediately show his presence. He wanted his mother to first see through the boy, as she would be the only person he knows that can probably help the boy.

"Join me, and be my family."

Placing his hand on the boy's shoulder. Sengoku gave the boy a gentle smile. He was there when his mother looked at the boy's memories. He was there when the scenes of his suffering were displayed. He wanted to help the boy, even if just a little.

"Sniff. Sniff. Alright, please. Help me, father."