Jackson "Black Jack" Sorel

Jackson's parents met one fateful day at a restaurant in a relatively small town that functioned as a seaport in North Blue.  A dark haired female working at the restaurant noticed a table of pirates being particularly unruly.  Their boisterous shouts clearly disturbed the other customers, and as a good employee would, she strongly suggested that they quiet down or leave the premises completely.  The group decided to leave thereafter, loudly singing and shouting on their way out the door.  However, a cheeky, and rather drunk, pirate refused to move, as he believed he should be able to eat the food he had already paid for.  She would not allow such nonsense, and forcefully grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and tossed him out the front door.  The next day, he returned to the restaurant to apologies to the woman for causing such a ruckus.  She accepted the apology, and he continued to visit the restaurant daily afterwards.  Eventually, they began to get quite close to each other and developed a relationship.

About two months later, the crew he was a member of was about to depart.  The crew planned to return within one year, but they became heartbroken over loosing the relationship that they had built.  Spontaneously, he proposed to her, fearful that he may not have the chance to do so for a long while.  She happily accepted the offer and swore she would wait in town for his return.  Her parents were not quite as elated as she was to find that their daughter had just become engaged to such an undependable man.  To their horror, they also discovered months later that she was bearing a child with the same pirate as the father.  

Nine months after the man left on his voyage, the child was born.  The mother named the boy Jackson Sorel; Sorel being the last name as her husband.  She raised Jackson diligently, awaiting the return of the boy's father.  Three more months passed, and she anxiously stood at a cliff's edge that overlooked the ocean to look for him.  He didn't show up on that day, nor the days of the month that followed.  The townsfolk watched as she left her young child at home temporarily to check the ocean at the cliff each day, only to return brokenhearted ten minutes later.  

One day, however, she did not return.  Fishermen found her dead body washed up on shore a few sunsets later.  It was never determined whether the death was suicidal leap off the cliff or an accidental slip, and it was merely labeled a "tragic incidence".  Jackson Sorel, now without mother or father, was officially adopted by his mother's parents.  His grandparents treated him well, trying to raise their daughter's son as well as they could in the circumstances.  They did not hide the fact that they were not his biological parents, and gave him a straight answer when Jackson curiously asked why they were much older than other children's parents.  He refused become upset or defensive towards his current guardians, but did begin to develop a slight frustration at his biological father, since if he had shown up again the situation would still have at least his mother.

Eventually, Jackson reached the rebellious age of twelve.  The constant protective gestures that his grandparents made bothered him quite greatly.  He loathed how they worried at what he considered the smallest things, and how they banned him from doing anything remotely dangerous.  As an act of resentment, he went to the dock to swim.  This of course, was one of the areas he was not allowed to be at since pirates and marines were there frequently.  Upon seeing a pirate ship up close and discovering it empty of any living soul, he climbed aboard to take a closer look.  He realized that the crew was returning a bit too late; however, when he heard men begin to clamor upon their vessel and depart.  

Out of fear of discovery, he quickly hid in the storage room as the ship began to move.  Within hours of leaving the shore, a member of the crew found their stowaway and dragged him, flailing and protesting all the way, out to the captain.  Luckily, the captain found the act to be quite amusing and offered that they turn around their ship to drop him back off at the port they had recently left.  Jackson cheekily refused the hospitality, claiming the town was only holding him back.  The captain openly laughed at the boy's chagrin, and handed him a mop and bucket.  Jackson's job as a deckhand started immediately, and he nearly hated it as much as his sheltered life back at home.  He felt horribly undervalued to be doing such filthy work, and decided to try and do something about it.  

A few months after joining the crew, one of the spoils the crew had gotten was causing quite a stir.  The men avoided the odd fruit that they had recently, claiming that it was cursed.  For safekeeping, the fruit was locked into a small chest.  Jackson decided one night that he would eat the fruit that no one else had the bravery, or possibly idiocy, to do.  It took him hours, but he eventually was able to pick the lock of the chest with a piece of wire.  Pleased with himself, he shoved the entire fruit into his mouth.  His smug look quickly turned to horror as he realized how disgusting it tasted, and hastily swallowed it with a gulp.  The next morning, the crew awoke and found the chest containing the odd fruit to be forced open and empty.  The deck temporarily broke into chaos until the captain restored order.  He quickly deduced who the culprit was, as Jackson was laughing at the crew's confusion, and grabbed the boy by the scruff of his hair.  At this point, he explained what the devil fruit were to a now solemn Jackson.  

It wasn't long until he and his crew realized that the fruit was the domestic version of the Neko Neko no Mi.  Initially Jackson believed that eating it was not worth the constant hazard of falling into the ocean, but eventually he discovered its usefulness in stealth.  He noticed it was quite easy to pass through just about anywhere in his full feline transformation without appearing suspicious, since feral cats are commonly found wandering around.  With his newfound skill, he gradually was able to contribute substantially to assist his own crew.

Jackson and his crew continued to explore what they could in North Blue, until they came to the conclusion that they were strong enough to enter the Grand Line.  The captain, worried about the now fifteen year-olds well being, ordered him to remain in North Blue or face consequences.   Believing that his own crew didn't consider him to be fit enough to travel with them any longer, Jackson left immediately.  He was offended to an extent, but noticed he has more important things to worry about quickly.  

For the first time in his life, he no longer had any elder to supervise or provide for him.  Jackson survived with difficulty, often stealing from distracted people on the streets.  With a few years of practice, he increased in skill enough to take money from people that were more significant members of society.  The civilians of the area during this time began to refer to him as "Black Jack," because of his dark colored clothes and name.  He enjoyed this lifestyle of stealing money whenever he needed a meal until the local marines, whom he had stolen from as well, grew quite frustrated with his disruptive thievery.  They then placed a bounty of 2,000 Belli upon his head, hoping that it would be enough to convince someone to bring Jackson to the authorities.  As he did not know how to sail a boat on his own, Jackson was stuck on the island and found it difficult to constantly hide from the marines.  Eventually, he discovered a creative solution for the matter.  If Jackson simply remained in his cat form , which the marines did not recognize, for a long period of time, he could evade their searches quite easily.  

This created its own fair share of problems, however.  Jackson would not be able to steal things as easily, therefore making it difficult to obtain a steady supply of food.  To solve this, he became the family pet of an upper-middle class family in the area.  Though the constant petting and boundaries didn't create an enjoyable experience for him, Jackson eventually became used to it.  Before he knew it, he nearly spent three years with the family.  When the family moved to the Grand Line for a business opportunity, Jackson quickly began to yearn for a life outside the home.  It was then he ran away suddenly.  He effectively adapted into a lifestyle similar to the one he had nearly four years ago, stealing from people without discrimination.  This time, however, he also begins to steal enough money so he can pay for ships to take him to other islands that he may desire to visit.