Age Before Beauty

**Date Started:** January 2nd, 2022
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Roleplay:**
**Users Involved:** User:PuddingCups, User:BQD
**Setting:** New World
**Characters Involved**:
* **Killigrew Khan**, **Poison Ivy**

## Fate And Destiny

Steam. It rose up from the cup in a swirl, a waterfall of honey-colored liquid filling the solid jade cup, matching the very pot it was poured from. Tea. However, the eye's fascination was not on the tea set, nor the fact that it was solid jade, as even that was hidden by smoke. That smoke was pouring from a comedically long pipe used tradionatally in places such as Wano Country and Kano Country. These two gasses together created a sheer white curtain that hid a rather peculiar maiden, only her sihlouette being shown within the rooms confines. That changed however, when the door was opened.

He was a short and stubby man who dressed as if it was a war during winter. It was a miracle he could reach the doorknob and he talked with a thick accent and an even thicker stutter. It almost sounded as if he was constantly scared and constantly cold. "L-lady K-killigrew! My mistrezz! My madame! My dearezt mother..." He chittered, his teeth clacking together with every word. Finally, the woman could be seen sitting on a comfortable-looking sofa, the type that a rich and successful nobleman might comission a master woodworker to make.

Her red kimono draped across her body like a loose-fitting blanket, containing a scenic pattern of flowers and roses. Scars were splattered over her porcelin skin, from her arms, legs, and chest. Her face had somehow remained untouched, by battle at least. She herself liked makeup, and wore a dark red lipstick which clashed nicely with her emerald green hair, styled up with a golden comb. "Yes? Bonapart?" The woman questioned, adding onto the sentence shortly after. "Haven't you learned it is very rude to interrupt, not to mention you didn't even knock..." She sighed. "I do believe I raised you better, perhaps I was wrong." She then clicked her tongue three times and shook her head. "How are we going to correct this behavior?" Her body shifted from that sideways seductive pose as she pulled herself onto her feet.

Spinning around, her back faced the man she called Bonapart, revealing a wall of several weapons. Bows, clubs, swords, hammers, all gloriously displayed behind her. "Now what should I spank you with this time.." She thought to herself, but was interrupted.

"M-m-madame! You may... p-p-punish me at a later date! There is zomething... z-z-zomething you must zee at once!" The little man pointed a finger in the air before saluting, grabbing a telescope and marching away onto the deck of the ship. "Very well..." Lady Killigrew sighed, shuffling her feet gently across the wood as she walked right behind Bonapart. "I do appreciate the haste, can I ask for a short preperation for what I am to see?" She asked kindly, almost too kindly... it was very strange given that she was captaining a pirate ship.

"It is a-a-a-n enemy! A zhip in the diztance! We have r-r-r-readied the c-c-c-canons! All the men are working madame! I promize!" Bonapart commented cheerfully.

"An enemy you say Bonapart?!" Khan sounded suprised.

"W-w-wee m-mamade! An enemy indeed!"

"Have you tried asking them to avoid our path nicely? I find that manners, even when dealing with the worst of the worst..." Her red lips curled into a u. "Works best."

"Of courze! O-of courze!" Bonapart added. "But there is only so nice we can get, you zee." He was one of the elites on the ship, and his opinion valued. However, his manners were not so good. Khan did not like that.

"I do. I suppose that would be quite troublesome." Khan spoke, but not truly to Bonapart. Mainly to herself. Arriving on the deck of her ship, the woman being twelve foot tall, one would expect her to dwarf any vessel, or at least most. That however, was not the case. The ship of the Proper Pirates was large enough to hold an entire town and with the size of the crew, it practically did.

"Then I have no choice but to ask them kindly myself. It is only the right thing to do." As her face met the sunlight and her eyes set their gaze on the ocean, the hudred or so men working on the deck of the ship stopped to look, and in her presence... they made sure to user their manners. "WELCOME ON DECK LADY KILLIGREW!" They shouted politely, some of them having to scurry in front of her saying "excuse me" while some needing bullets or other weapons made sure to say "please" or "thanks" not only because Khan was there, but it was because she raised them to be like this.

Soon she reached the rails of her ship, her fingers tracing the wooden edge and her eye, the one uncovered by an eyepatch, honing in on a small speck of wood in the distance. It appeared far, but it was traveling fast and soon.... well soon it would arrive and Khan planned to welcome the guest with open arms.

A speck of wood could be seen in the distance, though moments later, Khan and her tripulation's visage would be filled with many other specks. Black dots that only became larger by the second as they travelled. Soon, dots became cannonballs, reaching for impact over several parts of the incredibly larger ship. Despite the sudden attack, no cannonfire could be heard, no loud "booms" that signalled their appearance. They were silent, and rather sporadic too, as one was shot after the other, rather than multiple simultaneously.

High in the sky, silver could be seen. An anchor fell down towards the Proper Pirates' vessel, keen on attaching itself to its deck seconds after the rain of cannonfire. Whoever appeared to control the enemy ship was certainly aggressive. From afar a loud voice could be heard screaming.

"Shit! I threw it too hard again! IS THE LADY PIRATE THERE BY ANY CHANCE?!" The voice screamed, her small ship finally visible.

The Proper Pirates looked up, seeing that iron bird in the sky fly right onto their ship and land on the edge of the deck with a thud. It was a strange sight, and everyone watched it all at once but once it landed everyone looked immediately towards Khan who sighed and prepared a speech. "Now remember children, no matter how rude or unsightly the guest... treat them with the utmost respect." Lady Killigrew nodded her head as she walked towards the anchor, assuming that is where this stranger would be coming from.

"YES LADY KILLIGREW!" The crew cheered, almost inspired by her kindness and her warm motherly smile.

The ship had drawn much closer and now they could see life on what was previously a tiny wooden speck. It appeared to be a muscular female with spiky hair. Definately not what Khan had been expecting. "Why hello there! How are you today?" Khan held her hands behind her back, leaning her head forward so that her soft voice was easier to hear amidst the angered ocean.

The figure climbed through the massive steel chains that connected the anchor to the ship, her features coming in too sight. Short spiky hair and large muscle hidden underneath a blue sweater and a black skirt. Her boots caused the chains to clang with every step she took. There had been no reaction to her attack, which she found suspicious to say the least.

"Me? I'm good. Aren't you guys gonna, uh, fight back or somethin'?" Finally she stood in front of Khan, and for some reason, the solo pirate felt nervous. A soft voice, an intoxicating smile, and an open posture that showed not a single hint of hostility. For a pirate, it was weird. "Oh, are you that 'Lady Pirate' or whatever?"

Khan blinked, her long lashes fluttering in confusion. "I'm sorry but I am terribly confused. Are you suggesting there is a need for us to fight?" The woman looked around, seeing that this girl before her was all on her lonesome. It was a dangerous world for a beatiful girl, surely she knew that. "Why yes, I am Killigrew Khan." Lady killigrew then bowed as a sign of respect to the stranger, "And could I ask for your name?" She questioned.

"Ivy. Poison Ivy." the girl clarified. "Obviously we're supposed to fight. There's a massive bounty on your head, don't you know that! There's many that desire you, but I'm sure you know that." Ivy scoffed, gazing at Khan's physique. "Are you not going to resist at all, Lady Pirate?!"

As Ivy talked, smoke came from a pipe and swirled around the two women entwined in conversation. Khan was taller than Ivy, almost double her height but she did not let such a thing decieve her. Size was not strength. She had seen ants carry giants, and giants fall to humans. Size meant nothing on the sea. What baffled Khan the most was this girls need for money.

Khan extended her index finger upward, as if pointing at an idea. "Ivy-San, A frog in a well knows nothing of the sea." It was a tid bit of wisdom to which her crew responded with oohs and ahhs, many of her so-called children put their fingers to their chin and scratched their head thinking of what this could mean, before the explanation came.

"There is no rule or law that says we must fight. It is only your will that we must. If it is a fight you want, Ivy-San, I can surely give it. But if it is money...." Khan held a hand to her heart then held her free hand up, as if swearing a promise. "You may have my share of treasure I recieved on my latest excursion." It was a strange act of kindness, offering money to someone who wanted the bounty on her head. But that was Khan.

"O-oi, did you just call me a FROG?! I'm a Kuja not a frog. Not that I have anything against frogs, but clearly, there's a difference!" She responded angrily. It wasn't just the context of what Khan said that annoyed her, but also her tone. It was so...welcoming.

"I won't fight if I don't have to." Ivy crossed her arms over her almost non-existent chest, eyes meeting the floor of the deck. "But I won't take no *damn* handouts from you." She continued. If there was anything she'd learn from being a Kuja, is that people *always* expected something in return, no matter how much they tried to hide it. "You're coming with me, whether you want to or not! There's beli on the line here, so you can either choose to fight back or surrender." Ivy barked.

Khan was taken aback by the statement at first, a Kuja Warrior! The women who believed strength was beauty? But they rarely left their home? Why did this one stray? "So you hail from Amazon Lily, Ivy-San? I remember my visit there." She remarked. "I'm not sure your ancestors would be happy with this behavior..." Khan said, it was about as mean as she could get.

"I'm afraid I can not come with you. I am needed here. But you may come with me, if you'd like. The tea in my quarters should still be warm, it is very good tea! What do you say? Ivy-San!?" Khan clapped her hands together and smiled before leaning down, much closer to Ivy's face. "Besides, you did not ask very nicely!" Now a finger rested on khans hip while another was planted between the two womens faces, as if Khan was correcting bad behavior.

Silence followed, Ivy clenching her teeth tightly together. It was a way of controlling her anger, her hands balled into fists, yet that very anger still seemed to leek out. Top martial atists, and swordsmen such as Roronoa Zoro knew this anger well, for they could manifest as a sort of spiritual aura. A sheer manifestation of their killing intent. That very same aura seemed to leak from Ivy's being, reminiscent to that of a snake.

Ivy took a step towards Khan, "And what the hell would you know about my ancestors, bitch?"

Anger was a powerful emotion often connected with stupidity. When children lost their temper they threw tantrums in hopes of getting their way. This was just that. A child throwing a tantrum. The aura was an impressive feat, it might have made smaller or a weaker person feel like nothing but a mouse, scurrying away from an anaconda. However, Khan was not afraid of snakes.

"One who smiles rather than rages is always stronger." And smile she did. Khan did not give into the rage of children, nor was she known to lay hands on someone for little to no reason. It would not be that easy. "I know that you must be a half-breed, for what I see before me posesses neither the elegance nor the grace of a Kuja Warrior. So tell me, Ivy-San, do you wear the title of a Kuja as a trophy? Or as armor?" Ultimately, it was a powerful insult. Most people wear their heritage with pride, but in Khan's eyes it seemed that the girl before her only stated the fact as a means of protection; as a way to flash her strength and scare others. Like a snake hissing with no fangs.

"You may strike me if it will make you feel better." Khan stood proudly, her hands behind her back. She stared at the girl below her whose eyes were filled with fire, but Khan's eyes were filled with snow; snow that cared very little about flame.

"Half-breed?! I'm a pure-blooded, one hundred percent Kuja!" Ivy retorted angrily. It was proof that Khan's words stung true. Yes, a good portion of her youth had been spent outside of Lily, even her young adulthood for some reason or another. Had those travels made her different from the rest?

"Everything I do, I do for my tribe, you hear?! Why do you think I'm huntin' you?!" Ivy shook the thoughts away. Khan was trying to play with her mind, to control her, yes, that was it. Her fist remained at her side, quickly covered by a layer of Busoshoku. She launched her arm forward, aiming a strike at the woman who was nearly twice her own height.

Like a mountain, Khan did not falter. She knew she was going to be hit. She did not flinch and instead her eyes widened, her painted lips transforming into a grin as the hit landed. Despite it's strength, fueled by pure rage, Khan had years on the girl and was quite used to being hit as sad as it was. "Do you feel better, Ivy-San?" Khan asked, continuing to look down at the girl.

"If money is not your servant, it will be your master." The woman spoke, kindly and softly as she always had. Despite the raised voice of the opposing party, Khan felt no hostility. Nor the need for it. "Do you truly believe that is your tribes problem? No. Because if you did, you would have taken my offering. A beggar is not a chooser, and what your tribe needs is not money."

Ivy held her tongue from lashing out once more. Who was this woman? Who would so openly take her strikes? Who would tell her what was wrong with her, or what was wrong with the Kuja? Yet as much anger as she caused Ivy, something about her prevented the mercenary from releasing her full strength.

"Of course it's what it needs." she responded. "But a person should still have honor, and principles, otherwise it doesn't matter what you gain! That's why I can't take your damn money." Ivy explained.

Honor. Principals. Khan found it funny that the girl would speak of such things, yet show none of them. Then again, it was hard to see the world in someone elses eyes. It was hard to walk in someone elses shoes. "You seem stressed, perhaps you'd like to lay down?" Khan asked, nodding. "My children would love to make you a bed, wouldn't they?"

The men and women on deck had been listening carefully, respecting every word. "YES LADY KILLIGREW!" They cheered, pumping their fists with excitement at the chance to impress their mother.

"All of you SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" Ivy screamed in response. This was between Ivy and Khan, her crew would not intervene. "You talk a lot, woman. What did you mean by that, that whole armor thing you said? What does my tribe need?" Had it been because she had tanked a blow? In Lily, beauty was strength, by those standards Khan's beauty was certain.

That was one thing no one did. Talk to her crew, her children, the Killigrew Family like that... treating her children unkindly was perhaps the one thing in the world that truly angered Khan, yet her face remained the same her tone became more sinister, and that same auria Ivy had emitted earlier, quickly sprang to life on the other end, though it seemed more effortless as instead of fists... it came with a cold smile. She was not the only snake that could scare mice.

"Why are you unkind to those who have done nothing but offer food and rest." Khan crossed her arms and shook her head. "Oh Ivy-me." It was a different honorific, one used to determine someone was inferior. "You say Kuja like it means anything." Khan began to explain, though it more so seemed she was talking down at this time. "You are what you make yourself to be. Not what you are birthed to be. Empires fall and rulers become peasants, empires rise and peasants become rulers. All the money in the world would not stop a speeding train headed for a cliff. Only a different conductor." Smoke once again flew from the kiseru, forming a skull and a crossbones as it exited the pipe.

"GAHHHH, you're so frustrating!" Ivy clutched her head, none of what Khan said made sense to her. Trains? Cliffs? Peasants? Every time she asked a question, the answer she got was far from what she seeked. "I don't know who the hell would want that bounty on your head, you're insufferable!" Ivy screamed.

## Eastern Hospitality

Kahn had been called many names in her long life, insufferable was one she could definately add to the list. The comment made her giggle. "I'm saying..." Khan huffed her kiseru, allowing the smoke to release. "You claim that my bounty would help your country, yet you do not know me at all. You simply know the number the World Government says I am worth. I believe you are just using this as an excuse to act as you please. For all you know, I am helping your country as well. In fact... if my memory serves correct, I once did." Kahn was not the kind of woman to lie, and though the details of her past often became fuzzy in her head with time, she did recall her brief stay on Amazon Lily.

It was no secret that in the past, Amazon Lily had been a battleground for many pirates. Mostly everyone wanted the island under their flag for one reason or another, yet finding the island was no easy task. Khan had only managed to find the girls paradise through sheer luck and it was the Kuja's luck as well, for not long after she defended the island against an unforeseen threat. "In conclusion, you should really work on your manners." Khan finished.

"Did you?" Ivy's brows furrowed. "That's what they all say...they come to us, promising that they'll respect our tribe, *respect* our traditions. That's always how it starts. Look, 'Lady Pirate'..." Ivy paused thinking about her words for a moment. "That number you have on your head, it's for a reason, no?! How could someone like you, a criminal ever be someone that's helped Lily?"

Despite Khan's kindness she usually had a scold on her face, though throughout this conversation that had been replaced with a smile. "You seem so hell-bent on this bounty, Ivy-San." The honorific changed once again, for now Khan had seen something in Ivy that perhaps Ivy didn't even see in herself. Or maybe she did. Khan shook her head, spinning around and turning her cheek slightly, alloying Ivy to see only her side profile. A long nose, lucious lips, fluttering eyes. At first it could have been taken as a sign of disrespect, but quickly the kimono she wore became looser, allowing half of her back and a shoulder to show in the process.

That porcelin skin was covered in scars, and one in particular stood out. It was diamond shaped, like the head of an arrow had pierced Khan's back. "This is from the former empress, Tigerlily. Despite my kindness, the only way I was allowed to stay on Amazon Lily was to prove my strength." Khan commented, hiding the bigger details of the story as smoke formed the shape of the empresses namesake as it left Khan's pipe. "And most of the empresses have had a bounty, as traditionally they've captained the now non-existent Kuja Pirates." Khan felt that Ivy was being hypocritical, talking as if a bounty made someone a villain. Then what about her people in the past?

"There's no real way for me to prove I defended your home, except this scar on my back. Either way, whether you believe me or do not believe me; the past will not change." Khan twirled back around, her geisha shoes clacking against the wood as her tiny steps shuffled in a circle, the kimono went back over her shoulder.

"Tigerlily..." the name felt familiar on Ivy's tongue. "You mean *that* Tigerlily, the youngest Empress we've had..." The scars confirmed it, they were real. Why else would Khan make such an elaborate story? Ivy could tell, that she knew about Amazon Lily. About it's culture, about it's history. "But...she existed even before the Pirate Empress...which means..." Ivy counted with her fingers, murmuring numbers amongst herself.

"Y-Y-YOU'RE A TOTAL GRANNY!!!" Ivy screamed, wondering just how many years Khan had been alive.

A plam was placed on Khan's forehead. Was that what Ivy had gotten from the story? "It isn't polite to talk about a ladies age." Khan huffed, flushed with embarrassment. Her crew reacted to the girls screams, some of them jumping in fright while others just attempted to watch the scene play out even closer. They knew better than to interrupt.

"But yes, I suppose I am in your eyes..." Khan thought about it, to the rest of the world her age was a strange thing, but to her it was perfectly normal. Of course that empress had ruled over 300 years ago, Ivy must have known that, but there was even more she didn't know.

"So...wait, wait...if you helped the Empress all those years ago. What are all these rumors about you, Lady Pirate? I was told you were *ruthless*. A killer. "Why would the government...lie?"

Khan giggled, a hand covering her lips out of courtesy. "Are you sure you want the answer to that? Not knowing is Buddha." There were two paths one could take in life. You could know everything wrong with the world, or know nothing of it. The argument over which road was best to take was timeless and answerless but the grass was always greener on the other side. Once heard, some things could not be forgotten, and if never told... some things can not be prepared for.

The Lady Pirate was asking Ivy to flip a metaphorical coin.

Ivy scratched the back of her head, lice and dirt coming off of it. "Uh...I don't really know what you're saying. I don't know what a buddha is but of course I'd like the truth!" Ivy looked around them, it was surprising that their entire conversation had been all for Khan's crew to hear. Ivy shrugged at the thought, it wasn't like she minded though.

Many crew members met eyes with Ivy and jumped to work out of fear. Khan wasn't the only one who felt her previous aura. Khan nodded, "Well then, why don't you come into my quarters, for tea? Like I said, I believe it's still warm." The woman bowed to Ivy before turning around, walking across the deck of the rather glamarous ship. Everything seemed spotless, it was built akin to an ancient dojo mixed with a castle. A strange combinition which somehow worked for the Proper Pirates. Soon, there was a red door with a golden trim, no doubt the door to the captains quarters.

Upon entering, the luxurious the crew had gathered over the years were displayed in full. Famous paintings littered the walls, beautiful china consisting of tea cups, tea plates, and tea pots. It seemed to be split into two parts, a livingroom-esque section equipped with a nice couch and a table, and of course a desk where Khan would do her captainly paperwork.

Given that Khan found herself the host of the meeting, she took it upon herself to pour the tea. The pot was quite heavy, made of solid jade with red crystals embedded into its outsides, but Khan had no trouble lifting it and poured the piping hot liquid into two cups with relative ease. She allowed Ivy to pick the first seat, and Khan took what was left, smoking from her kiseru.

"The truth, Ivy-San, is that you should trust none of what you hear and only half of what you see." Khan enjoyed talking in puzzles and proverbs, making people discover what her truth bombs truly meant, but this one was obvious. Anyone can tell you anything, but what you see with your own two eyes... well that lessens the chance of deception.

Ivy moved with as much care as she could muster, her nose tingled repeatedly before she neared several parts of the room...and sniffed them. Cups, seats, she moved over them like a dog before finally sitting down. "It smells nice in here." she noted, as if what she had done was completely normal.

"So, you're tellin' me you haven't killed anyone that didn't deserve it? That they gave you a bounty why, cause you're nice?"

Khan's eyes pierced through the steam rising from the cup, her lips stopping just before reaching the rim; so that she could explain. "I have never intentionally killed anyone in my entire life and there is but one death on my hands." Khan's eyes closed as the picture flashed in her head. It still made her sad to this day...

"You see, I am a doctor." Khan set her cup down. "It goes against my oath that I hurt anyone, for I must heal them afterwords. No matter how vile or wicked. A doctor can not choose who they heal. They simply must." Khan nodded to herself, as if the reasusring herself that the statement made sense.

"I recieved my bounty for conquering islands, which I admit sounds like a cruel thing to do. But I only take what needs help, and what no other pirate may want. When I take an island, I grant them a wish. If they are struck with poverty, I will make it rain gold. If they need a new ruler, I will elect another!" Khan explained proudly, speaking with a lot of emotion on the subject. She clearly disagreed with her bounty.

"Why?" Ivy asked, "What do you get outta' being so nice? Don't get me wrong, I get helping's important and all, but it won't get you nowhwere...I know that firsthand."

"Then how has it gotten me here, Ivy-San?" Khan questioned, her arms raising as if to show off all that she had collected in the room. "Everyone has different ways of ruling. Fukuoka Koyuki rules with fear. Charlotte Borma rules with love. I chose to rule with kindness." Khan grabbed the tea and took a sip, despite it's hot temperature her mouth went unbothered.

"You can’t fight without an opponent, so I do not give people one."

"She definitely rules with fear...her crew too..." Ivy muttered underneath her breath. Her hand tightened into a fist in anger. "What good is ruling anyways.."

"Everyone is a ruler, Ivy-San." The smoke from Khan's kiseru formed a crown. "But most only choose to rule over themselves. Some even opt out of that." Khan sighed, her tea cup empty. Her hands were folded neatly in her lap as she stared down at the cup, the leaves. Oddly enough, it was used as divination by some. Khan didn't practice the art but she found it strange that the leaves made a shape akin to a serpent.

"Tell me Ivy-San, have you heard of Haoshoku Haki?" Given that nearly every empress who rose to power had the rare ability, Khan assumed as such. It was also genetic that Kuja's pick up on haki quicker, with some even being born with it. Naturally, Ivy had to know about it. Or at least, about haki.

"Of course," Ivy responded. "Every Empress in Lily has had Haoshoku, it's basically a requirement. The will of the conqueror, they say only one in a million has the ability, no?" Ivy noted.

"Then it appears we are both one in a million." Khan commented. "I suppose I was born with a sixth sense for this type of thing, I've always been able to tell who is a leaderer verus who is a follower. Even when I was younger. Hmm... let me see..."

Khan grabbed the jade kettle, pouring herself another cup of tea. "No no, I'm correct. Whether you like it or not, whether it's awakened or not, it is a gift you possess. Unlike some with Gioshoku Haki..." Khan shook her head sideways, she didn't even like to say the word. It nearly sickened her! The thought of those people roaming this world... the false kings!

"Ivivivivi!" Ivy chuckled to herself. "I doubt that. All empresses have awakened their Haoshoku by their fifteenth year. I don't have that, I'm not no empress. What's Gioshoku though? Is that some new type of Haki that I don't know about?!" Ivy leaned forward. "Can you teach me this Gioshoku?!"

Khan giggled. She figured it was best for Ivy to eventually learn on her own, though Khan knew it was definately there. Even if laying dormant. "There are many people in this world capable of imposing their will upon others. It is not as one in a million as it seems, though few realize it... just because one can rule, does not make them a good ruler. Someone who rules, but does so badly... they possess Gioshoku Haki." Khan had a certain disdain towards these people.

It wasn't that they were evil, no. Evil people could rule excellently at times, it was just that they were bad at what they were supposidly born to do. Sometimes fate messed up.

"Ehhh?" Ivy seemed confused. "A bad ruler has Gioshoku, a good ruler has Haoshoku? Aren't all rulers chosen ones?" Ivy asked. "How can you tell which one's which?"

"Anyone can wear a crown, Ivy-San. Are they worthy of it is the question at hand." Khan took a puff and smoke once again filled the room. "It is obvious, ask the people who follow them." Khan's red lips smiled, being seen even beyond the Kiseru's smoke.

"Though now, I have a question for you." The Lady Pirate commented. "Would you like to join me?" Khan clasped her hands together and tilted her head, as if to add kindness onto the question!

"Join you for...what exactly?" Ivy questioned, a brow raised in confusion.

"Why! To join my family of course Ivy-San. The Proper Pirates! Of course... your manners would need some work..." Khan looked directly at Ivy's shoes, while Khan's were placed neatly beside the door. You always took of your shoes whenever you entered a room. Common sense!

"E-eehhhhh?!! Why would you want ME in your crew? I tried to capture you Khan, and I know you're weird n' all, but surely you can't be comfortable with that proposal, right?" Ivy said, words blurted out to convince herself more than anyone else.

"I'll tell you a secret, Ivy-San." Khan leaned closer, the lone emerald lock which usually laid over her shoulder now dangled over the table. "Everyone in this crew has tried to kill me." With that, Ivy used her eye that wasn't covered by a patch, to wink.

"You see, I may have good intentions, but I am still a conqueror. Not everyone takes kindly to their homes having a new ruler, so all these people... my children you see aboard this ship. They were the strongest warrior on their respective island, before I took it over and adopted them!"

Ivy flinched at her last words, before shaking her head aggressively. "You're cool n' all, lady, but *nobody* but a Kuja deserves Amazon Lily! I can't join your crew. My only allegiance is my tribe!"

Khan nodded. "Good answer, Ivy-San." The women respected Ivy's choice, even considering it the right one to make. "Well you can't blame me for trying!" Khan took a sip of her tea before asking yet another question. "And where is it that you were trying to go? When we fatefully crossed paths? Or do you roam around aimlessly hoping for bounties to find you?"

Ivy seemed to look down now as Khan questioned her. "I was specifically trying to find you...you see I've been takin' jobs from clients for a long time. Weapons, people, treasure. Whatever it is they want as long as they pay, it'll help me get Lily out of its current situation..."

Help. That word brought pain to Khan. Why couldn't she help the country? Well, because it didn't want her help. Usually, they never did. What was to stop her ship from sailing to Amazon Lily? Claiming it for herself? Showing them the right way... setting up their future for success instead of whatever failure it was headed for currently. It was that scar. That silly scar on her back and that child empress she had befriended in battle.

“Fall seven times, get up eight.” Khan spoke, one of her many words of wisdom to the young Kuja. "You will find a lot of obstacles in your path to restore your country to greatness. I hope you overcome them. You know, you remind me a lot of Tigerlily." The grey smoke once again filled the room, to someone who didn't smoke, they might have been bothered by it. Still, the smoke smelled nice. Like lavender.

Ivy's eyes widened as she pointed at herself. "Ivivivi, stop with the flattery lady Pirate, I know you want me to join but don't exaggerate. I'm a soldier, through and through, not a queen like Tigerlily."

"Do not fret, you have said no so I will not ask again. I appreciate someone who knows their own destiny." Khan smiled, suddenly pulling out a small bag with the same pattern as her kimono. "But I do think you could learn something from the story of Tigerlily." Khan closed her eyes briefly, clutching the powder with her hands.

"In this bag is a magic substance from Kano Country. Story telling powder, have you heard of it? Ivy-San?" It was a rhetorical question. Of course she hadn't. "It's a hallucinogen that can be inhaled. The people of Kano Country have used it for centuries, to pass history down to the next generation. When the smoke is released from the pipe as I speak, you will envision what I'm telling you as if you are really there..." Khan explained it in a very professional manner. "Of course, it's use has been banned by the World Government... but I don't see them here!" The woman made a 'shushing' emotion, putting a finger to her lips and winking before the smoke came from the pipe.

Ivy would be able to feel herself drifting away as Khan painted the scene with her words, it would feel like watching a motion picture almost. Seeing the characters on the screen yet... being able to do nothing about the outcome.

An elegant kimono laid draped out in a dark and decrepit cell. There was hardly any light, aside from a few small holes in the ceiling but even that light wasn’t from the sun, just a room above her cell. Some random room in the castle. Occasionally she could hear laughter from her only source of light, sometimes water with bubbles would splash down. It led Khan to believe it was the bathhouse. What a strange setup, to put the prison beneath the bathhouse.

Chalk engravings kept track of how long she had been in the cell, about nine days. “I have to warn them…” Khan mumbled to herself.

“What the hell are you babbling about ugly?” She appeared in animalistic armor, on the other side of the cell. Both her and Khan had grown quite accustomed to each other over the nine days. Who knew the bond of guard and prisoner could be so strong.

“Briony-San, there is a pirate coming here.”

“You tell me that everyday! But I’m looking right at her. For someone with such a bounty, you think you’d be a little harder to capture… Tigerlily sure made quick work of you huh. You lost to her in the coliseum and everything. You didn’t even fight back!”

Though it was intended to offend Khan, it did not. She had her reasons for everything. “Please Briony-San, I beg of you to listen to me. Just… be prepared.”

“If you were following them, how did you get here first?” Briony questioned. Admittingly, that was one question Khan didn’t have the answer to. “I… I do not know.” She sighed, looking down at the concrete bricks beneath her in dissapointment.

Meanwhile, far away from the castle, far away from that prison cell, there was a ship on the edge of Amazon Lily. It appeared to be behind the island's main ‘entrance’ if you could even give an isolated island an entrance. It was a ghostly sight, torn and rugged, it had been through storm after storm, and the members aboard looked no better. Dirty and greasy, the captain stomped across the deck with a peg leg and an awful stench. “KEEP DIGGING BOYS!!! WE’LL GET TO THE PROMISED LAND EVENTUALLY!!! WE’LL ALL FINALLY HAVE WIVES!!”

“HUZZAHHHH!” his crew shouted, raising their shovels in the air. The most interesting thing about the group of men, was that the edge of their ship contained a drill that dug deep into the side of Amazon Lily, before they knew it, they were deeper and deeper. Their plan? To dig all the way to the maiden paradise.

What the drill didn’t do, the shovels did. Soon they shifted their focus up, and if the captain was right… they’d drill right into the castle. “I’ll show the world! That Worley Tew is loved by women!! Tew is handsome! He is dashing!”

The crew nodded their heads in agreement, though they knew it was untrue. Worley enjoyed talking about himself in third person and he was determined to make the island his harem.

Up above, in the very castle they were trying to break into, there was a throne room on the top floor. It was as marvelous as one would expect a throne room to be, with various precious gems and animal heads mounted on the wall. Pictures of women worshiping snakes and quivers of all kinds of different arrows.

A little girl sat in the throne, she couldn’t have been older than thirteen, and that guard, that burly woman who had talked to Khan earlier? Was standing right beside her.

“Your majesty, our prisoner continues to speak of an oncoming threat.”

The little girl stared at the burly woman. If anyone didn’t know better, they would mistake the two for mother and daughter, believing that the buff girl was the empress. However, that wasn’t the case. “What could she be talking about? I searched the entire perimeter myself. There was nothing out of the ordinary… nothing suspicious.. That woman…” Tigerlily crutched the arm of her throne in anger.

“Why do you believe her? She’s clearly lying in order to escape. Why would a woman we’ve captured and imprisoned do anything to help us? Do not be foolish, Tigerlily.”

“It’s not that.” Tigerlily paused. “When we fought in the coliseum… to determine her sentence here… she let me win.”

Briony looked stunned, she gasped. “L-let you win? Why? That’s unheard of?”

“I do not know why, but can’t you feel it from her? Like an aura of overwhelming strength… yet she didn’t even lift a hand, and fell to just one arrow. Even the weakest prey do not lie dead so easily.”

“Do you think it was a trick? A game? Should I…” Briony now brought a smile to her tanned face. “Execute her?” Briony began to draw her sword in excitement.

Tigerlily’s hand flew to the side Briony stood on, as if to stop her. “You will do no such thing. In fact, if any Kuja harms that woman, I will kill them myself.”

“HOW CAN YOU TALK SO EASILY OF KILLING YOUR OWN KIND? AND NOT A STRANGER!?”

Tigerlily’s snake slithered from under the throne, hissing at Briony. “I was made empress for a reason, Briony. Do not question me.”

Briony’s lips seemed to be glued shut after that, allowing Tigerlily to speak on the problem at hand. “I do not think she is with us, but I do not believe she is against us. We will let her rot in her cell until the truth is revealed. I must bathe now.”

And rot in her cell she did. Khan kept her focus on the dripping water, drip, drip, drop. It must have been bath time for someone. She had grown quite accustomed to life as a prisoner, and began decorating her cell the best she could. Forming makeshift curtains with her bedsheet cloth and somehow even crafting a tea set made of stone, using a pointed nail and the decaying stone debris around her. It felt just like home!

“This is nice. How kind are the Kuja to allow me to stay here!” It seemed like sarcasm, but sadly Khan was serious. In her entire life, this was one of the nicer places she had been given. She hummed a song to keep herself company, one she hummed to her crew when it was bedtime. Her crew would not be coming to save her, firstly because they were all men and Khan did not allow them to enter the island with her, and secondly because she didn’t need saving.

The humming was beautiful, it was a song that many from Kano Country may recognize, as it had become a staple in their culture. A popular melody that when she was younger, Khan had written.

However, that humming was interrupted by the violent shaking of the earth beneath her. That stone pottery set she had crafted fell off a wooden table and clattered into a million pieces. Before she saved it, there was a giant drill sticking up from the dungeon floor and at least fifty men.

Khan gasped. “Men? On the island of Kuja…”

“We did it boyos! You and ol’ Tew finally did it! Wow, the Kuja Palace isn’t as nice as I imagined…” He was a fat man with tan skin and white hair.

“I believe this is the dungeon sir!” One of his crew members corrected him.

“Oh, well yeah! That’s what Tew meant!” His peg leg stabbed the concrete as he walked, he used a shovel as a cane. The group made their way right past Khan’s cell, and she couldn’t help but intervene.

“Excuse me.” She demanded, causing the men to stop, some bumping into others.

Tew’s face growled in disgust, until he saw it was a pretty lady. “Oh my, are you a Kuja? How are you? Milady? Would you like to be one of my brides!?” His mouth foamed like a rabid dog.

“I’m terribly sorry, but I have to pass on your proposal. I’d also like to state that no men are allowed on this island, would you all please leave?” Khan asked nicely.

The Grave Digger Pirates looked around, then at each other, then back at Khan. She was met with a wave of laughter. “Why the hell would we leave just because you asked us too? This is the island of my future wives!! I’m gonna be KING.”

Khan wagged her finger, shaking her head. “Amazon Lily does not have a king. They don’t even understand the concept.”

“WELL THEY WILL NOW! So STOP using LOGIC and REASONING! No wonder they imprisoned you!! Annoying!!! Let’s go boys, let’s leave her to die!!!” They cheered as they moved on upstairs, and as they did, a drop of water fell on Khan’s head. Her hand instantly touched the wet spot as she looked up, the bathhouse… that was the room upstairs. She couldn’t let them just go! “I am very sorry, Kuja Warriors, I will have to break a few rules.” Khan bowed in her cell, as if to apologize to the entire nation.

Suddenly, the bars of her cell had been bent to form an entrance, something she did with relative ease. “Forgive me!!” She clasped her hands together as she looked at the cell, chasing after the men.

Tigerlily was the only Kuja in the bath. She preferred to bathe alone. In fact, it was the only time she could really be alone. Before becoming empress, she was free to hunt, free to shoot, free to do whatever she pleased, all by herself. However, now, everyone wanted to protect her. But she didn’t need protection.

Oddly enough, despite being in the bath, Tigerlily still wore her armor. She actually never took it off. It didn’t feel right without it. The door to the bathhouse was blown open by an ugly man with a shovel, it surprised Tigerlily. Not that the island had intruders, but that it was a man. She knew they existed, she knew what they looked like. After all, she was the captain of the Kuja Pirates as well, and that had brought her face to face with many; despite her age.

“Who the hell are you.” The little girl demanded to know, standing from the bath in full armor.

Tew covered his eyes as the girl stood from the bath. “A LITTLE GIRL??? I don’t want to see that!! It’s illegal!!! Who the hell are you!! We want to face the empress!!”

Tigerlily wasn’t the type of girl to waste time, her snake slithered into a bow and she grabbed at least eight arrows, she could happily shoot them all at once, accurately too. “I am the empress, and you’ve committed a great crime for stepping onto the island of Amazon Lily while having a mushroom.”

“You can’t be the empress! The empress is supposed to be a great beauty! With supernatural strength! Like the legends say!! AND WHY ARE YOU WEARING ARMOR IN THE BATH!” He had uncovered his eyes and Tigerlily released the arrows, however something strange happened.

Holes formed in the bodies of both him and his crew, causing the arrows to just fly through them. Tigerlily looked annoyed. “Why are you looking at me in the bath? And what Devil Fruit have you eaten! I demand to know!”

“Tewwwewwewewew!!!” The pirate chuckled. “Surely you’ve heard of me, Empress!” As he said empress, he created bunny ears with his finger, as if he didn’t truly believe she ruled the island. “I’m the Grave Digger himself! Morley Tew! I’ve eaten the Ana Ana no Mi, making me a Hole Human.”

“Interesting.” Tigerlily remarked.

“It is indeed! And now that I’m here… I’ll be taking this island when you're old enough!! I will propose to you and become king!”

“What if I say no?”

“Why would you say no?”

Tigerlily had loaded up her bow once again, attempting to shoot the men once more. Tew repeated his previous actions, creating holes in their bodies which sent the arrows flying through. However, this time, Killigrew Khan stood behind the men, and she herself narrowly evaded their sharpened points.

Then the crew charged forward and Tigerlily reloaded her bow and as both sides attacked, a green-haired woman appeared in the middle. Her arms spread around only to protect Tigerlily, the blades of shovels striked her chest while an arrow penetrated her back.

Tigerlily gasped, the Grave Digger pirates merely groaned. “Get the hell out of our way!” They said angrily, but suddenly, the entirety of the crew, except the captain, had fallen into the bath defeated. “When on earth did you do that?” Tew commented.

“Do not worry, they aren’t hurt. Just pressure points.” Khan nodded, ignoring her new wounds.

“Get out of my way!” Tigerlily yelled. “I can handle this on my own.” Her teeth ground together as she talked, clearly the empress was frustrated.

“Do not fret, Tigerlily-San! I know you can but… no one can hurt a child and get away with it. Not even with the best manners in the world.” Khan then looked towards Morley Tew. “Do you have something to say for yourself? Breaking Kuja customs and attempting to assassinate their empress? A sorry perhaps?”

“SORRY? Why would I be sorry!! Fine you took out my crew but I can take you both by myself!!” The man himself stepped into the bath, just as Khan wanted. He was far shorter than her, which meant his Devil Fruit would now be useless.

“Wait a second? This water is deeper than I thought…” He mumbled as he began to sink. Luckily, Khan was twelve feet tall and the water barely touched her shins. Grabbing the man by his arm, she held his face to hers as he squirmed in an attempt to escape.

“Bye bye.” Khan said casually, rearing her arm back as she tossed the man out of the castle. He flew through each floor, creating a Morley Tew shaped hole as he went. Eventually, both Khan and Tigerlily could see a twinkle. Wherever he was… he was far away from here.

Tigerlily huffed, eyeing the green haired woman. “You talk about manners? Where are yours!?”

Khan stared blankly for a minute before noticing. “Oh my, you’re right! Please forgive me, Empress-San!” In seconds, Khan had disrobed, her kimono flying onto a clothing rack and her shoes being kicked off onto the side of the pool.

“THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!! YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO GET NAKED!!”

“But wearing clothes is obviously uncustomary in the bathhouse! Unless you are the empress!”

“What the hell!! No! That’s not what I.. you know what, nevermind. I could have taken them all, I didn’t need you. That’s my point.”

“Hm? Of course. But who am I as a mother if I do not defend a child in need. Even the strongest wolf needs a pack.” Khan smiled at Tigerlily, he looked very displeased.

Suddenly, a hoard of Kuja’s arrived at the bathhouse. Great timing. “EMPRESS! And… PRISONER? What has happened!” The leader of the guards asked.

Tigerlily was prepared to explain, to tell the truth, but Khan once again had a different plan.

“The pirates had taken me hostage, and Tigerlily defeated them.I’m terribly sorry to be out of my cell, I will return to it now.” Khan bowed, ignoring the fact that she was completely naked.

“Wait.” Tigerlily announced. “Prisoner, you may leave this island so long as you promise to never come back.”

Khan turned to look at Tigerlily, the young empress then winked, and Khan winked back with the one eye she had that wasn’t covered by a patch.

Getting her clothes back on, she bowed once more to the Kuja’s and left, hearing Tigerlily bark commands in the distance. “Get rid of the bodies, throw them in the sea. Go investigate the dungeon.”

It made Khan smile. That was the reason she had saved her, not because she was a child, but because she was a wonderful leader.

Ivy would find herself back in the captains quarters. "Looks like the powder ran out just in time!" Khan commented.

"You...helped her." Ivy said, almost failing to believe what she saw. The powder played everything vividly, almost as if Ivy had been there. "Lady, no, Khan, um, can I call you that? You're welcome anytime you want into Amazon Lily! You're an honorary Kuja!"

"Thank you Ivy-San! But I only helped her for the same reason I plan to help you." Khan looked at Ivy. "If you'd like, I will personally escort you to the next pirate you plan to hunt. My ship is faster than yours, and I have an entire crew to work it. If you will not allow me to give you berri, at least let me do this."

Ivy nodded in response, fanged teeth revealing themselves in a smile. "I'd appreciate that! O-oh, and um..." Ivy shook her head vigorously. Flies, dirt and even leaves left it before Ivy pulled out a small card. "Oh, here it is!" A piece of paper which she now held with her fingers. A vivre card.

"Take this!" She said, handing it to Khan. "If you ever wanna find me, or go to Lily, if you need my help. I'll be there, Khan. I promise."

Khan looked almost flushed by the gift. A virve card that would let her find Ivy no matter where she was on the globe. For a second, she froze and sat as stiff as a statue but eventually, that stone cracked. She had thought of the roller coaster today had been, from trying to be killed by the kuja, to befriending her. A tear fell from Khan's available eye and she slung her arms around Ivy, hugging her.

"They grow up so fast." She commented before stopping the hug, only to go and open the door of her captains quarters and give her crew an order. "Prepare to sail please!" She shouted, as the ship got ready to take Ivy to wherever she needed to go. "YES MOTHER KILLIGREW!" The crew responded and that was that. After a new friendship, the ship had set it's course and soon it was nothing but a speck in the distance, rocking with the endless waves of blue.