Just A Dream

"Huff Huff" RIzu panted as she held her spear in her hand as she struggled to catch her breath from multiple attacks. With new bruises and many cuts decorating her body.

Other marine soldier charged at her with oncoming attacks while a man wearing a red shirt and a marine cap watched on the sidelines.

'Clash' 'Clash' of weapons are heard colliding against each other and pants echo. "Enough." A stern man says, putting an end to the training of the 2 men against the young girl who looks to be at an age of 7. The men nod their head and walk away from them leaving them.

The young girl with battered bruises and cuts across her body slumps down into the dirt and tries to catch her breath. The man walks over to her and stands right in front looking down at her.

Rizu looks up and catches her breath "F-father.." she says while getting up from the ground. The man's face contorts into a face of disgust and disappointment. The girl continues to look up to her father as he opens his mouth to say something.

"Do not call me that. You need to improve more, you are still really weak. This will be the end of our training together, I will send you to another base in a couple months for you to learn from other captains and marines. Get stronger. Do not disappoint me." he tells her. The young girl clenches her fist tighter and bits her lip.

She searches her father's face to see nothing but disgust and disapproval. With that her "father" walks away from her as she falls back down into the dirt looking down at her hands.

She hears him stop and looks up from her hands to see his back. "I do not wish many others to know that you are blood related to me. Do not use my name." he says and continues to walk away from her.

Tears threaten to fall out of her eyes and her hand reaches out to the man. Rizu whispers to herself "What must I do for you to call me your daughter? What must I do to get you to accept me? How much stronger, how much longer, what have I done? Why do you look at me that way?" she asks herself all these questions, one after another. Wondering and thinking of solutions, ways in which she can prove herself.

Minutes seem to pass by with the girl sitting there by herself. Rizu moves her hand to her face. "Is this.....a reason why you look at me like that? Or is it because I'm weak?" she says to herself as she stands up and walks away.

The scene changes and shows Rizu, after that incident and days after. Things she had to do, things she did to change and to please that man.

From that day she made herself a mask, a mask that wasn't really well made. But she wore it and worked harder. She trained even after their regular training. Even so that her father would test her himself. He would criticize her and point out her weak points and teach her ways that would do her good. Ways to fight against awful pirates.

But who said that his ways of teaching her were completely right. When he decided to test her himself after seeing some improvement, he would push her self ego and confidence back down. Not just that he would fight her seriously, he would hold back. But not in a way that she wouldn't get hurt. After that, she would come out with huge bruises and injuries. He would continue to look down at her condescendingly.

Though it seemed to her that Akainu, her father, seemed to look at her with less disgust, since she trained harder, showed more improvement and the mask.

But after each training Rizu would practice making more masks since they would get destroyed after each day. They would get damaged and she would have to show her face.

Rizu would question if it was her face or was it because she was weak that made him look at her like that. Or was it both? She never really knew, but she knew one thing.

He disliked her and he never seemed to accept her. Only her mother from her memories that she had of her. But those memories were soon wiped away when he had came to her place when her mother had died. Replacing those fond memories with harsh training and treatment she received.

The scene changed again so where Rizu stands by herself in the dark. Surrounded by darkness and nothing but sounds and words echo out to her.

She dwells in the area, with racing thoughts invading her head. The young girl bends down and clutches her head as it throbs.

Yes, being young she still understood the harsh reality of her situation but yet.....

Rizu yearned for that fatherly love that she missed when she was growing up with her mother. She wants that affection and smiles that her mother gave her. Though those images were soon burned away.

"Get stronger. Improve. Weak. Do not disappoint me." These words would repeat over and over in her mind. Telling her to accomplish these and maybe he will look at her. He will accept her and appreciate her. He will eventually come and see her as his daughter, not just a blood relative.

"GET STRONGER. DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME." They screamed at her in her mind.

There Rizu sees his back turned away from her looking at her in disgust. His stern grey eyes digging into her soul, as if asking why she was there. Why she was born. Why was she weak.

She suddenly fell from that darkness into more darkness.

"Huff Huff" Rizu pants and sits up from her laying position in bed. "It's ok. It was just a dream. You still have time to improve and show him your progress. Get stronger." she whispered reminding herself of her duty and if she wants his acceptance than she would have to do better.

Rizu ran her hands across her face calming herself down. "Tomorrow, I have to train harder with Garp. I have to hone those skills that I've learned from other bases as well. Do better tomorrow." she said to herself and got up to get a glass of water from her table.

She drank her water and stopped to look at the mirror that reflected her face. Rizu placed her cup down and lifted her hand to touch her face.

She stood there for a while to examine her features. Her eyes were a dull grey like her fathers but were bigger than his. Her hair was black like his too since her mother's had a light brown shade. Rizu moved her head to see the rest of her face. But overall she had the same features as her mother mostly.

Her facial features were rather cute and complemented her face if others were to see her. You could tell that she would be a beauty when she grew up and she would look like her mother. Rizu wondered did Akainu dislike her mother? She shook her head and quickly dismissed that idea.

She walked back to her bed and glanced at her newly made mask that she had on her nightstand. She sighed and layed back down.

Drifting off to sleep to welcome.