I ran down the street, panting heavily. My shoulder-length brown hair flew across my face and I brushed it out of the way. I looked all around, my neck craning, trying to spot what I was looking for.

Has he left yet? I thought.

Just then I spotted the hay cart waiting on the street corner. The driver was looking around. I jumped up and down and waved my arms. "Hey!" I called. "Oji-san!" (A/N: 'Oji' means uncle in Japanese.)

Oji spotted me and waved. As I climbed up onto the cart, he gave me a tip of his old, wide-brimmed straw hat. He then flicked the reins and we were off.

Oji isn't really my uncle. He just insists that all the kids in the village call him that. He is kind of like an uncle, I guess. He likes to check in on everyone and see what's new, and he'll give people an occasional ride on his hay cart for a "small tip", as he calls it.

I'm one of his regular customers. He gives me a lift home from the dojo where I train everyday because it's too far to walk back home. And I can't take any regular transport because it's too expensive.

"Well, here's your stop," he said as we pulled up to my house.

"Thanks, Oji!" I tossed him a few Beri and walked inside.

I was greeted by something small colliding with my lower body. "Kyoko!" my little sister squealed. "You're home!"

I smiled and ruffled her hair. "Hey, Mei!" I greeted back. I looked up, remembering my mom, and greeted her too. Dad wasn't there as usual. He was probably working out in the rice fields again.

"So, do you think you'll be ready for this week's tournament, Kyoko?" my mom asked.

"Yeah, I do," I replied. I sword-fought in weekly tournaments. It was the only way to get money for me and my family. We were extremely poor, and besides that our family had been put in debt by some landlord. It's a long story.

After a yummy dinner, I went upstairs to the loft bedroom that I shared with my sister. I kicked my shoes off and plopped down on my bed. Despite the hard training I had done today, I didn't feel tired at all. So I just laid there, fiddling with my hair until I eventually drifted off to sleep.

The next day, I was working a shift at the local cafe. As I went around, taking orders and moving dirty dishes, I noticed an interesting man sitting at one of the tables. He was wearing a white shirt, black pants and black boots, along with a green haramaki sash. There was also a dark green bandanna tied around his upper left arm, just below the sleeve. He looked normal enough, except for the fact that he had pale grass green hair and three swords hanging at his right hip. As I walked over to take his order, I heard him mutter "Where are they? They should be here by now."

"Um, sir?" I said. He looked at me and said "Huh?" That's when I got a good look at his face. With just that one glance, a jolt of fear went through my body, because Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro was sitting right in front of me.

"Uh-h..." I stuttered. "What would you like to eat, sir?"

"Um, I'll just have some grog for now," he said.

I went to go get his drink. When I came back, there was a strange sight outside. There was a group of marine officers parading down the street, but that wasn't the weird part. Leading them was a girl with glasses and short, dark blue hair. She looked about 18 or 19.

Zoro looked at the marines like they were nothing, but when he saw the girl a look of surprise and shock passed over his face. He cursed.

Hmmm, I thought. They probably can't see him unless they come inside...

If I gave Roronoa Zoro in to the marines, I would probably get a huge reward and we could pay off the debt. No more tournaments, I thought. No more double shifts at the cafe, no more riding home on an itchy bed of hay every night...

I jarred myself back to reality and pondered the situation. As the marines got closer, I made a split second decision.

"You stay here," I whispered to him. "I'll distract them, and when the coast is clear, run." He looked like he was about to protest, but then he sighed and nodded.

I ran out of the cafe and into the street. I waved at the marines and yelled "Hey!" My plan worked. The group walked straight towards me.

"What are so many marines doing in town on this fine day?" I said with a big smile.

The girl with blue hair walked up to me. "Hello, my name is Tashigi," she greeted. "We're looking for this man." She held up Zoro's wanted poster. "We got reports that he was in town. Have you seen him?"

"Actually, yes, I have," I said in a fake tone of surprise. "He just ran in that direction." I pointed down a long alleyway that was next to the cafe.

Tashigi nodded her head like she expected nothing more. "Such a dirty place would suit a filthy pirate," she muttered under her breath. "Come on, men. We've got a criminal to catch. And I need to get something from him..." She trailed off.

"Er, miss, I hope you don't mind me asking, but what do you need to get?" I inquired.

Her eyes drifted off into the distance, and I knew she was going into flashback mode.

"It was such a beautiful day. If I recall, I had just finished beating up some pirates. And then... he came over and commented me on my swordsmanship." Tashigi paused. "He didn't tell me he was a pirate, oh no. And of course I had no way of knowing." The young girl sighed, like the memory hurt her. "I completely trusted him. I told him my wish: that I would take all the good swords from all the bad pirates, simply because they didn't deserve them. I showed him to a sword shop and even helped him pick out some swords. But he betrayed my trust. I found out what he was, and tried to take his swords from him. One of his swords is a very rare kind, you know, and he doesn't deserve it, the filthy thing that he is."

Tashigi took a deep breath. "He wouldn't fight me. Even to this day, he won't fight me. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe he's afraid he'll lose. Personally, I think it's something else. But I may never know." Her eyes got a steely, determined look. "Alright, now let's go catch that pirate!" she yelled, and her and her troops ran down the alley.

Okay. That was interesting, I thought. Then I remembered Zoro still in the cafe. I ran back inside.

"The coast is clear," I told him.

"Okay, um, thanks," he said. He turned to go, but looked back at me at the last second. "Hey kid, you got a name?" he asked.

"Kyoko."

He nodded. "I'll remember that. Now I better go before those marines find me. See you - Kyoko."

I watched Zoro go. As he ran off toward the docks, something long and white fell off his side. In wonder, I ran out and picked it up.

It was one of his swords.

I looked up, but where he had been standing just a couple seconds before was no longer occupied by him. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't just leave the sword for that Tashigi girl.

So naturally, I ran after him.

When I got to the docks, I saw no sign of him or any of his crewmates, or any clue where they might be. But I did see the ship.

It was absolutely huge, with a big masthead that looked like a cross between a sunflower and a lion. Hmmm, this looks like his ship to me, I thought with a smile on my face. I climbed aboard, which, looking back on it, was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done.

I didn't see any of the crew members anywhere, much less Zoro. I tried the deck, the crow's nest, the room with the big couch, pretty much everywhere. As I walked down the hallway, I noticed a small flight of steps leading to a door. I walked down and opened the door.

In front of me was a vast amount of treasure. There were gold coins, rare jewels, necklaces with diamonds and pearls, practically every kind of treasure you could think of. A wide grin spread across my face. There must be at least ten million Beri in here, I thought incredulously. Forget paying off the debt. With that amount of money, my family and I would be rich. Extremely rich.

In wonder, I ran my hands through a chest full of rare coins. I slipped some necklaces around my neck. I spun in a circle, letting jewels and coins fall to the floor through the gaps my fingers made.

That's when things went wrong.

I felt the ship begun to move, like it was pulling away from the dock. Then I felt the ship rocking on the waves, and I realized that it had left the dock. Panic engulfed me, and I froze with fear. My heartbeat became faster, and my breathing felt constricted.

I was stuck on a ship, sailing away from my village, my only home - with the Straw Hat Pirates.