I like to let a fic speak for itself but I’m afraid that for this one it would say, "This author is a nutter." And that’s only partly accurate.

As a few of you know, I was really torn about putting this up and that is because upon further introspection I didn’t think the story fell under the broad umbrella of good fanfic. An attempt to explore Kuro’s textbook sociopathy and the happy fun world of OP really doesn’t mix well. So I went with the sociopathy and threw out most of the world.

Then there was the always niggling doubt of people ‘not getting it.’ That’s what this long-winded and perhaps unnecessary explanation is for.

The Sociopath:

A sociopath gets great gratification in the act of hurting someone for absolute no reason. He/she appears to be very normal, calm, and educated on the exterior, but on the interior, they are incapable of experiencing any form of emotional content. The sociopath is that truly self-absorbed individual with no conscience or feeling for others and for whom social rules have no meaning.

"It must be remembered that even the most severely and obviously disabled sociopath presents a technical appearance of sanity, often with high intellectual capacities and not infrequently succeeds in business or professional activities for short periods, some for considerable periods. Although they occasionally appear on casual inspection as successful members of the community they do not, it seems, succeed in the sense of finding satisfaction of fulfillment in their own accomplishments. Nor do they, when the full story is known, appear to find this in an ordinary activity."

I’m not going to get into examples of why I think Kuro is a sociopath – I think the above definitions and his behavior during the Kuro Arc pretty much makes the case on its own. And this story wasn’t about if but about why. Why did Kuro decide to give it all up? Why did he want peace?

Manipulation, power, narcissism and the rush that comes from being the puppeteer of those that surround them; this is what the sociopath loves. Branching off, what bothers a sociopath? If they can’t connect with fellow human beings, have no conscience, and have no rules then what would disturb them? I’ve already mentioned loss of liberty. Sociopaths also hate not being in control and being proven that they are like everyone else – anything that reinforces the truth that they are not special or powerful as they believe themselves to be. In other words it is mental torture of being caught that is most likely to bother them and not the actual physical incarceration itself.

They will curb their activity if they have a brush with the law since they value liberty highly. Kuro made his living by having brushes with the law; that would hardly seem to be a good reason in and of itself to explain why he gave up being a pirate. My reasoning is that in order for Kuro to give up the pirate life, where he had inordinate amounts of power over his crew and their victims, he would have had to run into a situation where he was not in power and where it was proven beyond a doubt that he was just like everyone else.

And this is where the symbolism steps in and takes its proper bows.

Hina; the fledgling, a chick. Perhaps one of the mismatched monikers in the OP World – Here’s the bird putting others in cages, the chick putting fear in the predators. Ah, dichotomy, thy name is woman. And she, like other Marines, wears the word ‘justice’ on her back. So there’s the symbol – the prey is the predator, stands for justice and is Kuro’s personal devil made real.

The masks weren’t really a symbol because symbols should be a bit more graceful. Sociopaths abuse the concepts of honne (one’s true self) and tatamae (what one shows the public). The masks in the story were a physical representation of this concept.

Finally, this story came about from these few phrases.

"Face to face
No telling lies.
The masks they slide
To reveal a new disguise." – Face to Face, Siouxie and the Banshees

"I’ve got a mind full of wicked designs.
I’ve got a non-stop ‘hole in my head’ imagination.
I can’t forget I am the sole architect.
I built the shadows here.
I built the growl in the voice I fear." – Hey Pretty, Poe

As I begin to lose my grip on these realities you’re sending
Taste your murder, taste your sex.
>Naked underneath your cover.
Covers lie.
And we will bend and borrow with the coming signs…" – Black Black Heart, David Usher

(I especially like the part about ‘covers’ since it can refer to a hidden identity. David is deep.)

So that’s the explanation, justification, excuse or what have you. And just an observation: When someone says ‘close your eyes,’ it’s only gonna be bad. They are either gonna turn you into a vampire, stab you with a sword and send you to hell, or bind you with their devil fruit powers and have their wicked way with you. ;9