Prologue - Rivemor Village, Milima Island, West Blue

"Kansten Olander Malley, get back here right now!" A woman's angry voice rung through the crowded bustle of an open air spice market, easily weaving in among the other sounds. But to one young girl, that voice was like a glass shattering - loud, unexpected and startling - and she ran off among the forest of legs, giggling.

"No!" She said, turning to stick her tongue out at the woman who was trying to shove her way to her.

"Kansten, if you don't listen to me I will put you in your room and you won't be allowed out for the rest of the week!" The woman elbowed her way through the packed square, rage-filled green eyes glaring down at the ten year old girl. All of her seven sons, matured teenagers or sniffling toddlers, would have quailed at her gaze, but that impudent girl just met her eyes and grinned.

"Today's Saturday, Pampy," the girl said smugly, "that's not much of a punishment. And any way, you have to catch me first!" She shot off into the crowd just as Pampy lunged to grab her, causing the woman to stumble and curse at her close call. Whirling about, she searched the crowd and saw a familiar head of black hair bouncing around skinny shoulders and chased after the girl, grumbling about her ill luck.

Kansten was having a great time; at her caretaker's expense, of course. She weaved through the legs of women and men standing around stalls and displays with ease. Laughing, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Pampy struggling through the crowd, her orange hair and bright blue dress making her easy to spot. Picking up speed, she ran by an apple merchant and snatched a fruit, leaving a belli bill in its place. Crunching the apple, she made it to the edge of the spice market and looked around, humming. What was the best place to hide from Pampy for the next day or two? She couldn't go back to the library - she was found there last time - and the scrapyard was too full of rats this time of year.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice the hand that reached out from an alley as she dashed by, and grabbed the back of her cream-coloured shirt. With a surprised yell, she found herself pulled into the shadows of the lane. Clinging to the hand, she twisted to get a look at her captor, trying to gnaw his finger off as she did.

A familiar pock-marked face met her venturing gaze. Blonde stubble crept up a strong jaw, and jaw length hair the same colour was tucked neatly up under a dusty conductor's hat. A patch covered his left eye, and the right looked at her with cheerful amusement as she released her hold on his thumb.

"Cobundy?" Kansten asked, surprised. Her pirate friend wasn't supposed to return for another two weeks at least (not that she minded his sudden appearance...)

"O'Malley," the pirate said with a laugh. "Running from the lady boxer again?" He shook the ten year old girl playfully before setting her back down on her feet, watching as she bit back down on her apple angrily.

"Yeah," she said sourly. Outside the alley she could hear the ruckus her caretaker was making as she searched for her - arguing, yelling and something falling to ground and probably smashing.

"You always get yourself in the worst of messes," Cobundy said, shaking his head. Still holding her by the back of her shirt, he made his way down the alley and out into a quieter, darker part of town. "You can stay with me and the crew for a few days, 'til the lady boxer's calmed down."

"Really?" Kansten beamed up at the man, wiping sticky hands on his shirt. "Y'know, I wanna be a pirate when I grow up, but no one ever believes me. Everyone just makes fun of me - they say there's no way I'll ever make it to the Grand Line, never mind become the bestest pirate ever. But I'll show them!" She pumped a fist in the air, accidentally hitting Cobundy's chin.

Hiding a smile, Cobundy rubbed his jaw and set the girl down in front of the lantern-lit tavern that he and his crew stayed at when they stopped in Rivemor. "Why do you want to be a pirate, O'Malley? You weren't saying this the last time I visited a year ago."

Kansten shoved open the door to the tavern, calling back over her shoulder, "'Cause you said the sea's where you're most free! I don't ever wanna go back to how I was living, and don't wanna have anyone telling me what to do, so I'm gonna be a pirate! The best pirate, the Pirate King, so I'll have all the freedom in the world!"

"All the freedom in the world, huh?" Cobundy watched the girl run up to his crew, greeting them and inquiring about new scars. She didn't flinch at the sight of missing limbs, eye patches, piercings or tattoos. She was used to scars, she didn't even notice missing teeth, and their horrid manners were a source of amusement to her. For some reason he could imagine O'Malley as a pirate. He had an odd feeling stirring in his gut, a feeling that promised great things. "Yeah, you'll show them all right, kid." He said with a laugh, and slammed the door shut behind him.

The crunch of gravel under Kansten's feet was the only thing to be heard in the midday heat. Humming softly and swinging her bag back and forth idly, she kicked up small plumes of dust that sputtered out of existence a few seconds later. It was a hot day for West Blue, early in August, and when most people would be inside relaxing, Kansten was travelling on the empty path and finally starting out on the quest for her dream. It was this knowledge that lifted her spirits and kept her going for the three days that it took to get from Rivemor Village to Calam Port, where she would find a boat or ferry to get to the next island. Now, she could just see the edges of Calam on the horizon, and at the sight of the small spires and realization that there would be food, Kansten quickened her pace to a fast jog.

Over the years she'd honed her body, all for the sake of her dream, and now she was fitter than most humans. She could hold a sprint for over an hour, and jog for a couple more. She could take down a grown man - several, at that - in hand to hand combat, and had trained for years with knives and small hand bombs. She could pick locks, cook and find food in a wasteland; and that wasn't mentioning her ability.

She had long black hair that was usually draped over one shoulder, curling in on itself naturally to form an odd kind of cone. It reached to her mid-back, and greatly contrasted her pale skin. Her yellow/orange eyes, speckled with silver, were probably her most stunning feature - that and the red gray tinge on her eye lids. When she activated her Devil Fruit ability, the color would creep from her eyelids to around her eye sockets, like a natural eye shadow, and her eye color would intensify, and her pupil started twitching madly. She remembered someone had once said her eyes were like kaleidoscopes, and it seemed they were right.

Kansten wore her usual travelling clothes - a blue tinged vest with gold chains, black and gold caprices and roman sandals that had little winged clips on them. A pair of red bar earrings bounced against her jaw as she ran, and the wind blew through intricately carved holes, making an eerie whistling noise.

She entered the town half an hour later, her stomach grumbling as the scent of delicious dishes filled her nose. Groaning, she made her way deeper into the crowd, looking for a tavern of restaurant that wasn't too shady, but not well-known enough to be busy. At first she had to force her way through the streets, but as the people around her caught sight of her eyes, they broke away whispering. Years ago this would have bothered Kansten, but now she was used to it, and actually found it helpful. It made getting through bustling streets a hell of a lot easier.

She finally found what she was looking for - a small restaurant shoved a ways back form the road with a swinging sign that read "Horse's Hooves Restaurant and Bar." Shoving open the door, she took a seat at the counter and watched the waiter make his way over to her. He was tall and had a crooked nose from one too many fist fights, but seemed nice enough.

He flashed her a cheerful smile and clasped his hands together, saying, "Would you like some beer or ale to start, or do you want your meal first..." His voice trailed off as Kansten glanced away from the sign with the food choices and met his gaze. He swallowed hard as he found himself looking into yellow and orange irises shot through with silver. Cross shaped pupils seemed to twitch ever so slightly, and even though he knew it was impossible, it was as if just the pupils were following his movements instead of the entire iris.

Kansten ignored his shock and read off her choice (a slice of pork tenderloin, for those who're wondering), waving him off idly. The waiter hurried away, swallowing hard once more as he handed the chef the order. He had about the girl with the bone-chilling eyes the colour of molten rock. Anyone interested in gossip on Milima Island knew - they knew all about the girl who ate the Miru Miru no Mi, all those years ago, and her abilities that seemed to transcend the human capability.

The girl named Kansten O'Malley.

AN - Miru Miru no Mi - pretty much the See See Fruit. Kind of self-explanatory, but more will be revealed next chapter. For Kansten's eye colour, think Mihawk with a slight orange blemish and fragment of silver. And the cross shaped pupil is kind of vibrating, so it's creepy looking.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed. More of Kansten next chapter!

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