In a bar in Loguetown, the Rogers pirates were celebrating conquering the Grand Line with their captain, The Pirate King, Gold D Rogers. The crew was having the time of their lives. Other pirates from around the sea came and joined the party too. Such as Hawkeye Mihawk, who was chatting with Shanks while they had a drink.

Gol D Rogers took a big gulp of his beer while his vice captain, Rayleigh was sitting comfortably next to him "Well, we did it. We actually did it."

"Yup, we sure did. It's kind of sad that such a great adventure had to come to an end" Rogers said

Rayleigh nodded "Yes, but we will hold the memory of this journey in our hearts for the rest of our lives"

"That we will, partner...that we will"

His vice captain's expression went from relaxed to serious "So, have you decided on who you're giving it to?"

Rogers glanced at him

"You kept it only between yourself and I, telling me you were going to give it to a member of our crew" He looked at every member of their crew "Have you decided yet?"

When Rayleigh didn't get a response, he looked over at Roger and saw that he was looking somewhere else. He followed his captain's gaze and his eyes landed on the woman sitting on the other side of Hawkeye, speaking to him. She had smooth and silky royal blue hair that reached her shoulders. Her eyes were the same color as her hair and her skin was pale and flawless. She wore a white jacket over her black tank top, black shorts that reached her mid thigh, black boots and a sword strapped to her hip.

"You're going to give it to Aiko?" He asked

The captain responded with a hm

"But she's not interested in having power such as that. You know she believes that people can be just as powerful without eating one of those fruits"

Rogers continued to look at her as she interacted with Mihawk. He could see her cheeks were a bit pink as she spoke to him, her eyes showed admiration and love for the man. Mihawk face, while it showed no emotion, his eyes showed the same love for her as she had for him. Although it went unnoticed by the others, Rogers could see their hands intertwining under the counter of the table.

He smiled "I know that...but I also know it would be best if if is left with her"

Rayleigh watched as Rogers finished his drink and walked up to her. He had no doubt that if Aiko was interested, she would use it for the right reasons, but he still wondered why give it to her?

"Aiko..."

Said girl was snapped out of her love struck daze and quickly pulled her hand away, blushing when she saw her captain behind her "O-Oh hello captain...you um enjoying the party?"

He laughed at her nervous expression "Not as much as you two are I see..."

She looked at the knees, blushing with embarrassment while Mihawk turned away, having a little tint of pink in his cheeks. "Is there something you need, Rogers?" He asked

"As a matter of fact, there is"

He turned to Aiko "Come with me, my dear"

She looked confused but nodded, turning to Mihawk and Shanks, giving them a look that told them she'd be back. They nod and both she and Rogers walked out of the bar, but not before hearing Shanks tease Mihawk about the little hand holding under the table. Guess Rogers wasn't the only one that noticed.

They walked in silence for a while, during that time Aiko wondered why did the captain want to talk to her alone. Did I do something? Maybe he found out that I took one of his favorite bottle of sake and shared it with Mihawk?! She swallowed hard knowing how much his sake and that if you mess with it, you'll go through hell.

They stopped at the pier, where the sea was sparkling under the glow moon.

He broke the silence "You sure have changed, haven't you?"

"Huh?" She walked to his side and looked at him

"You are much different now than you were before..."

She looked in front of her and nodded

"Before you were so aloof, so cold to others. It was like you had nothing more to life for, no joy in your heart..."

She remembered that time in her life. Her parents were former pirates with huge bounties on their heads. They were part of a pirate crew that caused all sorts of trouble for the marines. But they find out they were going to have a baby, they quit that life to lead normal lives in a small village where they hoped no marines would find them. Unfortunately, when she was 14, the marines found out where they've been hiding and came after them. Her father held them off while her and her mother ran. Her mother hid her somewhere safe and told her that she loved her and went back for her husband. But they never came back, the next morning she came out of her hiding place and went to her home and found blood everywhere. She ran out and searched the whole village for them. When she cane to the shore, she hid again as she saw marine officers speaking to each other. They were talking about the night before and that both of her parents were dead.

Between that time and before being a Roger pirate, she became cold hearted and distanced. She didn't care if she lived or died. It was only after joining the Roger pirates that she became her old self again and she couldn't thank her captain enough for that.

"And now look at ya..." The captain said, bring her out of her memories "You're a different person now and I must say I like this person a lot better"

"It was...because of you and the other...that I became the person I am today..." She said softly, tears forming in her eyes "I still can't thank you enough..."

"I keep telling you to stop thanking me, I was happy to do it and I'm got you're the way you are now" He said patting her head

They continued to look back at the sea, watching the waves push and pull.

"Aiko..."

"Yes, captain?"

"There is a question that I've been wanting to ask you for a while..."

"Yes?"

"Throughout our adventures, we've had many encounters with the marines and yet you haven't killed any of them, not even one. Most people would seek revenge after what they've put you through, so why not you?"

Aiko stayed silent for a while, then she answered "I'd be no better than them if I went after them..."

He turned, looking at her for the first time since they got there

"First off, I don't remember the faces of the men who killed them, so the only choice I would have is to kill every marine I see until I killed the men I was looking for. But then I would have been a murderer, I would have killed so many innocent men and...I didn't want that."

She smiled sadly "My parents were trouble making pirates but they were good people. They told me about their adventures together and how they killed some people. But it's not because they wanted to...it was because they had no choice but to. They wouldn't have wanted me to kill unless it was my only choice" She turned to him and her smile brighten a bit "So I look for alternatives solutions, it's better than having blood of a dead man on your hands, right?"

He looked at her, blinking before bursting out in laughter "I should've known you'd say something like that, now I know I'm making the right choice"

Aiko was confused "The right choice?"

Rogers laughed for another minute then stepped closer to the edge of the pier "Aiko, you've studied up on devil fruit powers, correct?"

She nodded "Yes, I have. I may not want a devil fruit power but it doesn't mean I not interested in learning about them"

"So then you've heard of the gift of the sea?"

Aiko raised a brow "Why do you ask?"

He ignored her question "Tell me what do you know about it?"

"Well I know that not many people know about it and that most think it's just a myth..." She bit her lip, hesitating to continue

"Go on, I know you know more than that"

Sighing, she continued "I also know that the gift of the sea is a devil fruit however it's not called a devil fruit because devil fruit considered cursed due to the fact that they take away the user's ability to swim. But this fruit doesn't and this fruit is smaller than the other fruits."

Rogers nodded, telling her she was correct on all points "But you never learned what its power is, have you?"

"No, captain. The legends on this fruit never did say what the power contained in it was" She looked at his back "Why are you asking me this?"

Rogers turned around and faced her. He reached into the inner pocket of his captain's coat and pulled out a hand sized treasure chest. He walked up to her and handed her the chest. She looked at the chest then up at him, she took it when she saw him nod and opened it slowly. Her eyes widen, a look of shock and disbelief was written on her face "I-It can't be..."

In the chest was a strawberry, however it wasn't a strawberry, just it's shape. It was blue and the pattern on it remained her of the waves of the sea. "C-Captain...this is..."

"The gift of the sea..." He nodded "Rayleigh and I found it when we went off alone without you and the crew. Ever since we've find it, I've been thinking long and hard about who to give it to..." He smiled down at her "But now I found the right person"

Aiko turned her gaze away from the fruit and looked up at her captain, the look on his face told her what he was thinking "M-Me?! B-But I'm don't even...I mean I'm happy and honored you would choose me...but..."

"I know it will be safe with you and I know that if you decide to give it to another in the future, you will make the right choice"

Aiko still couldn't believe this was happening. She was holding a chest containing the gift of the sea and here her captain was asking her to keep it safe. She closed the chest and held it close to her body "I still refuse to have devil fruit powers..." She tighten her hold on the chest "But I will keep it safe, I promise captain"

He chuckles, walking away "I know you will, Aiko. I know you will"

What he didn't tell her is that when he first picked up the fruit, an imagine of a young girl popped into his mind. This girl wasn't Aiko, but had hunch that Aiko knew or would know her and that she would give that fruit

8 years later after Gol D. Rogers execution

Aiko was sitting on the porch of her home on an island in the Grand Line, thinking about the years that passed by. From when her captain was executed to the news of him about to become a father. The memory of what came of that made her clutch her fists in anger and frustration. The marines forced every pregnant women around that time out of their homes and interrogated them. What made her more furious about all this was that if they found the mother of her captain's child, they were going to kill both her and the child. They were going to kill an innocent child who hasn't even took its first breath of life and a mother, even in her delicate condition, would do anything to protect her own child. Fortunately both mother and child were never found but still memories of that time still plagued her mind.

A soft sound was heard on a blanket besides her, she turned to see the reason why she was brought out of her thoughts. On the blanket was a little girl around the age of 4, napping peacefully besides Aiko. The little girl was her daughter, she had the same color hair, the same nose and lip of her mother but her skin tone and eye color were both from her father. Her eyes were like her mother's but when she glared at someone or something, it was clear who her father was.

Aiko didn't want her daughter growing up in this kind of world, a world where the government practices their sick way of justice. She had made a decision on what she was going to stop the government but she didn't like it. It meant being away from her family, not being there where her daughter grew up and not being near the man she loves. But this is what she had to do, this is what she wanted to do. Now all she had to do was discuss it with her husband.

She sighed "Now how do I go about talking about it?"

"Talking about what exactly?" A voice said

She jumped at the sudden voice, placing a hand in her beating heart as she look up at her husband. She glared at him "Damn it, Hawkeye! Don't scare me like that!"

"It's your own fault for on being aware of your surrounding. I've told you before that even here, far from the village, on an island such as this, you still need to be alert" Mihawk proclaimed

"I know..." She sighed "I'm sorry, I was thinking about...you know..."

He looked at Aiko for a moment and went to his daughter, gently picking her up so not to wake her and laid her comfortably in his arms and sat beside her. They sat in silence for a while before he asked "You're going, aren't you?"

She looked at her knees, not wanting to face him and nodded

"I see but you do realize what this means, right? You'll be labeled as one of the highest criminals in the world, you'll make powerful enemies and..."

"And I won't be able to see you or our daughter for...a very long time" She voiced sound horsed as she said that "This...wasn't an easy...b-but I-I can't let things go on like this!"

Tears started streaming down her face "I-It hurts knowing...I won't be there for her...but if it's to change the world for the better...I'll do it" More tears fell as she said last part softly "Even if you become my enemy"

He brought his hand up to her face and started to wipe the tears away "We both are willing to do things for her even if we are to be on different sides but no matter what, you will never be my enemy"

She was speechless, the way he was talking, he was really going to let her do this. More tears fall as she hugged him tightly burying her face in his chest as she sobbed. He held her close and patted her head. It hurt to know she wouldn't be there but as long as he knew what it was for, he could live with it.

She looked up from his chest and stared at their daughter, slowly bringing her hand up to her cheek and gently caressing it "I know you'll protect her, right?"

"No matter the cost" He replied without hesitation

Aiko sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, her facial expression turned serious "I know where I need to go and I have to leave tonight..."

Mihawk felt a cringe in his heart but nodded That soon...

"But before I go, I need to give you something"

She got up from the porch and went inside the house with Mihawk following behind her. He stopped to lay his daughter in her bed to continue the rest of her nap and went into his and Aiko's bedroom. As he entered, he saw her pull apart the floorboard

"Aiko, what is the-"

He stopped when he sees her pulling out a hand size chest from underneath and walked up to her "What is this?"

She finishes the floor and stood up, looking at him "This here is something I thought I would giving away but..."

He looked at the chest in her hands and back at up "Explain"

Aiko went and sat on the edge of the bed and pat the spot to her. He sat next to her, when he did she started to explain the conversation she had with Gol D. Rogers the night of their celebration. As she finished explains she opened the chest and showed him "So that's how I got this"

Being the way he is, Mihawk face showed no change however his gold eyes widen in shock at the story. He stared at the fruit "I must say, this is quite interesting and I can see why he trusted you with it. Not just anyone can hide something like this from me"

She gave a little smirk "And yet I hid this since day one"

He gave her a smirk of own and nodded before looking at her with his usual frown "What is it you want me to do with it?"

Aiko pressed her lips together as she gripped to chest tightly and looked at him with a sad smile "If things go wrong in the future...if you are forced to make a difficult decision, I want you to make her eat this"

Now both Mihawk's face and eyes showed shock as he heard this "Aiko, do you know what you're asking of me?"

"Mihawk, I know you'll protect her and I trust you but things may not work out as you planned. So in case of that, you have to make her eat this"

"Even if what you say is so, you realize if the government ever found out..."

"I know...but I believe she'll be smart enough to know how she can trust and who she can't." She took a hold of his hand and squeezed it lightly "This is so she can protect herself, so please love if that time does come, will you please give this to her?"

He thought about this hard and after a minute looked at her "Very well, if needed I'll give her this"

She smiled softly and slowly brought him into her embrace "Thank you my love"

They stayed like that for what seemed like forever, only parting when they heard little foot steps coming toward their room. Aiko quickly hid the chest under the bed and sat up to see her daughter standing in front of the door, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes "Mama? Daddy?"

"Hey sleepy head, how are you? Did you have a good nap?" Aiko asked

The little girl nodded going over to her parents, tugging on her father's pants "Up, daddy"

He gave her a small smile and picked her up, sitting her on his lap

Aiko looked at her daughter's big gold eyes and tried not to chock up again. She didn't want her to see her crying but she was going to miss her so much. She took deep breaths and cleared her throat "Sweetie, there's something I have to tell you"

The little girl looked up at her "Yes, mama?"

"Mama has to go away for a while and until she comes back, daddy will take good care of you"

Her daughter's eyes widen in shock as tears started gathering in her eyes "Mama go bye bye?"

At times like these, Aiko wished her daughter couldn't understand her. "Not bye bye, just see you later"

The little girl was confused and looked to her daddy for an answer "Daddy?"

Said man patted her head in comfort "What it means is you will see her again one day, sweetheart. But the question is, can you be brave and wait until that day comes?"

She looked at her knees and thought about it. She didn't want her mama to leave but if it was like what her daddy does, then she could do it because she's brave when he goes "O-Ok"

Aiko smiled sadly and pulled her daughter in a big hug "Thank you sweetie, it means a lot"

Hours past and it was nighttime with the moon high in the sky, Aiko was standing in front of the door, wearing a black cloak covering her whole body with her backpack on her back underneath it. She pulled down the hood of her cloak and turned to her family. Mihawk was standing a few feet from her, holding their daughter. They both looked at her with their eyes saying different things. Mihawk's eyes showed worry but encouragement while their daughter's showed sadness but acceptance.

She walked to the two and held them both close, knowing it may be a long time before she could do this again. She leaned in, giving her husband a passionate kiss and smiled into it as he returned it. She parted from their kiss and caressed his cheek "I love you"

He leaned into her hand and give her a soft smile "As do I"

She turned her attention to her daughter and held her close, giving her pepper kisses which her to giggle little "Be very good for daddy, ok?"

"Ok, mama"

"And one more thing..."

The little girl looked at her

"Don't let anything get in the way of your dream, you got it?"

Her daughter's eyes widen in admiration and nodded quickly "Got it!"

Aiko gave her one last kiss on the cheek before giving her back to her father and turning toward the door

"See you later, mama! I love you!" She quickly said

Aiko froze, gripping the handle tightly trying not to cry. She turned to her daughter and gave her a bright smile "I love you too, Umiko. My little sea princess. See you later"

With that said, she disappeared into the night

Hey, everyone! I hope you like this prologue. New chapter is 14 years later, where Umiko meets the straw hats in Loguetown and reunites with a certain moss head! So stay tune! R & R please!