Waking up was the worst.
Nothing like the bed I usually slept in. Hard and cold. The kind of surface that would make your body ache just from lying on it. That was where I'd been lying.
And even setting that aside, everything hurt. Some of it was the dull ache of sore muscles, some of it felt like bruises. Enduring it all, I slowly sat up.
A heavy clinking sound.
I looked down. Both arms were bound in shackles. Thick, sturdy chains that looked like they couldn't be cut even with proper tools rattled and clanked with every movement. They were genuinely heavy.
A moment later, I noticed that my entire field of vision was blocked by iron bars. No, not blocked, exactly. I was inside a cell.
For a second, I couldn't process it. But the memories came flooding back.
'Right. I fought the pirates, but I couldn't win, and then...'
The pirate Captain who had appeared, a Zoan-type Ability User. I remembered being knocked out in a single blow, losing consciousness. Faintly, I could also recall the conversation the pirates had been having at the time.
So that's what happened. While I was unconscious, the pirates had abducted me and thrown me in here. As "spoils of war," or "plunder."
They'd apparently changed my clothes while I was out. What I had on now was a crude, poncho-like garment, barely worthy of being called clothing.
No undergarments. Just this single piece. Thin, cold, and rough against the skin.
You're thinking I seem awfully calm for someone who's been kidnapped and locked up?
Yeah. Honestly, I think so too. I feel strangely composed. Maybe my brain just hasn't caught up yet, or it hasn't sunk in?
No, of course I'm anxious. Of course I'm scared. I keep thinking about what's going to happen to me.
Abducted by pirates, caged up and being transported somewhere. Nothing good can come of this. That much is certain.
The fact that they took me alive instead of killing me means they plan to use me for something. The standard answer would be human trafficking. Or maybe something more direct, "using" me themselves in various ways. Either possibility was something I'd rather not imagine.
And setting aside the fact that I'd been captured, the ship was already underway. I could feel the rocking; the ship was moving. That meant the raid was already over, everything done and finished.
My second Homeland, that town, had been destroyed by pirates. Again.
During the fighting, members of the Self-Defense Corps had been killed. Dozens of them. Even just within the range of what I'd seen with my own eyes, I'd watched people I knew fall at the hands of the pirates.
Among those who fled, there may have been people who couldn't escape and were killed, or people who ended up captured like me. Though for some reason, I seemed to be the only one in this cell.
It was heartbreaking. Infuriating. But there was nothing I could do about it now. I couldn't even confirm what had happened.
All I could do was pray that as many people as possible had survived and escaped.
While I sat there lost in thought, a man who appeared to be a pirate suddenly showed up on the other side of the iron bars.
"Hey kid, how ya feelin'?"
"...If you want me to be honest, terrible."
"Ha ha ha! Yeah, I bet. Well, we can't have you escaping or causing trouble, so you'll have to put up with the tight quarters. Heard you put up quite a fight back in town for someone so small."
"...What's going to happen to me?"
"Yeah, that's what I came to explain. Sit back and listen."
As if I could relax in a situation like this.
Still, resistance seemed pointless, so I let the tension drain from my body and listened.
Without any rough treatment, the pirate matter-of-factly delivered his "explanation."
That I had been taken as "plunder" from the raid on the town.
That I would remain confined and transported to a certain location, where I would be sold as a slave.
That if I behaved myself until then, nothing painful or frightening would be done to me. But if I tried to escape or showed any defiant intent, I would be "punished."
That meals would be provided three times a day, properly, as long as I was a good girl.
However, I wouldn't be allowed to bathe. I was still in shackles, and I wouldn't be let out of the cell regardless. Instead, they would give me a wet cloth to wipe myself down with.
After the pirate left and I was alone in the cell, I took stock of things. There wasn't much else to do.
First, given how things stood, escaping from here would be extremely difficult.
Iron shackles. Iron bars thicker than my fingers. I couldn't break either of them. A little physical training wasn't going to change that. In the One Piece World, sure, there were plenty of monsters out there who could twist or tear iron apart with their bare hands, but the current me couldn't manage anything close.
Slip out during a meal delivery? That seemed unlikely too. The cell door had a small hatch, clearly designed as a "meal delivery slot," and they'd obviously be using that.
Even if I somehow got out of the cell, I didn't know the layout of this ship. I wouldn't know where to go. There'd be pirates everywhere, and right now I didn't even have a weapon. All I had was this single flimsy garment. I had no confidence in fighting a grown man barehanded. The moment I was spotted, I'd be caught.
And if an escape attempt failed... no, even before that, just showing any sign of trying might be enough to earn me "punishment."
I didn't know what "punishment" entailed, but it definitely wouldn't be pleasant. Something painful, or something degrading... I'd rather not imagine it.
If escape was impossible, should I just give up? Sit here obediently and wait to be sold?
If that man was telling the truth, then at least I'd avoid anything frightening in the meantime.
Of course, this situation was already terrifying. And what awaited me when I was sold, or after, would likely be even worse. He'd said it plainly: "slave." That was never going to mean decent treatment.
When it came to "slaves" in the One Piece World, the first thing that came to mind was the infamous Celestial Dragons. Even just from what I could recall off the top of my head, they were spectacularly inhuman in how they treated people. Violence on a whim, death on a whim.
I wouldn't necessarily be bought by the Celestial Dragons. But even elsewhere, there were things like that enormous bridge being built, and other brutally harsh forced labor. No matter who bought me, nothing good awaited.
But then again, the argument just went in circles. Escaping was impossible in the first place.
I couldn't think of a solution right away. For now, all I could do was wait. Whether it was escape or anything else, without some kind of opportunity, there was no hope.
So when that "chance" came, I had to be ready not to let it slip away. I would focus on maintaining my willpower and physical strength, whatever it took.
Worst case, I might need to prepare for a long haul. Even if I ended up being sold, I'd have to endure afterward too, biding my time at wherever I was sent, waiting for an opening.
This world, this sea, was merciless to the weak. Unimaginable suffering might await me. The Original Work had shown plenty of characters who'd been through exactly that. Entire nations, even, had been subjected to such horrors.
But giving up was the one thing I refused to do. At the very least, as long as my willpower held, I would wait for the moment I could be free again, no matter how long the endurance lasted.
I might be young and inexperienced, but this was the second time pirates had destroyed my Homeland. I'd even spent time aboard a Pirate Ship through a strange twist of fate. I liked to think I had more grit and stubbornness than the average girl.
So first, I would endure. Endure, watch for my chance, and if possible, gather information within a range that wouldn't arouse suspicion or raise their guard.
***
Some time later, a different pirate from before came in carrying food. As expected, the cell door itself didn't open. The food was passed through the delivery slot.
The portions were neither generous nor meager, and the taste was neither good nor bad. Just ordinary food. It didn't smell strange, and there was no sign of anything suspicious mixed in.
There was nothing to gain from refusing, so I ate it without complaint. If this was the amount I'd get three times a day, I wouldn't go hungry. That much I was grateful for.
When I finished and returned the dishes, the pirate left without a word.
A while later, the same pirate returned carrying a basin of water and a tattered cloth. Ah, the bath substitute. Wipe yourself down and stay clean.
Again, nothing to gain from refusing, so I made use of it without hesitation.
As for my clothes, I could have managed with them on, but it would have been awkward. Getting the garment wet would be unpleasant, and catching a cold in this situation would be no laughing matter, so I decided to take it off. The shackles meant I couldn't set it aside properly; it just snagged around the chains. But that was fine.
Being careful not to get the garment wet, I stripped off the single piece of prisoner-like clothing and wiped every inch of my body, completely naked.
The entire time, the pirate watched me with a leering grin. Eyes crawling over every part of my bare body.
It wasn't just about keeping watch. That much was obvious. A different kind of revolting.
I was still a child, elementary or middle school age, and yet he was looking at me like that. The disgust was real, but dwelling on it wouldn't change anything.
So I decided to own it. Didn't bother hiding anything, just wiped myself down openly and defiantly. It wasn't like I was losing anything. If my scrawny little body was what did it for him, he could look all he wanted.
Once I'd finished, I handed the basin and cloth back to the pirate. He collected them through the delivery slot and left.
That was all for the day.
There was a window in the Cabin beyond the cell, so I could tell the time.
The only light was a single lamp in the Cabin. Dim, but I could at least see what was directly in front of me. For the most part I was just left alone, though occasionally the Cabin door would open and a pirate doing rounds would poke his head in. That was probably why the lamp was kept lit.
Nothing to do. I decided to turn in.
Before I lay down, a blanket was passed through the slot. So I wouldn't get too cold, apparently. I was grateful.
Wrapping myself in the blanket, day one of captivity came to an end.
Lying there in the dark, quiet room, I fought desperately against the negative thoughts that kept trying to creep in. I closed my eyes and, eventually, managed to fall asleep.
To be continued...