*Disclaimer: One Piece does not belong to me in any way. This right only belongs to Oda and Oda alone*

Chapter 1: From darkness to light.

'Black…

I once heard good movies start with black, but I'm not sure if this situation is related to it. I mean, when what you can only see is literally that color, it's time to wonder what the hell is happening to you'

Kimberly Liam was born on July fourteenth, 1995 in Boston, United States. Daughter of a Chinese nurse and an American soldier, she took after her mother's delicate beauty as well as her father's strong personality.

Since she was a little kid Kimberly showed signals of being very smart, with a great sense of justice and a passion for equality. That's the reason when in her early teens she said she wanted to be a lawyer nobody stopped her. In fact, her parents encouraged her to do it saying it was 'her thing'.

As soon as this desire of hers was given the green lights, she started working very hard. Being in the top three of high school, getting to college, obtaining possible future contacts, everything she did was always with great dedication and effort.

Kimberly liked to find some time for herself though. Nights were her besties. There was no party she hadn't gone to or bar she hadn't gotten drunk in. At least once a week, she hanged out with her classmates looking for this kind of things.

…

But she never forgot about her main goal

Finally...finally after years of pure professional dedication, Kimberly got an internship proposal from one of the most prestigious lawyer's offices in New York.

She didn't think it twice and left her hometown, her school, her parents, everything she was familiar with to reach this new opportunity. Don´t get her wrong, she was going to miss them all, especially her parents, but a chance was a chance no matter what, and refusing it would be absurd.

…

At least that´s what she thought at the time.

…

Now...she thinks that turning the proposal down wouldn't have been a bad idea.

Kimberly got the cheapest apartment in Broadway - single bedroom and bathroom, a kitchen and a living room - it was narrow yes, but it was hers nonetheless and that was enough to make her feel comfortable. Besides, even if she called herself a lawyer, her bank account would be pretty much 'unemployed' for a while.

She was returning there after a long day of work, with the single idea of taking a well-deserved bath and calling it a night.

It was a good thing Saturday was the day after. Kimberly could finish that tedious case report that's been bothering her existence since day one and maybe…relieve some stress with a handsome stranger. What? It is fun.

With that in mind, the young woman happily took the elevator to the fifth floor, finally reaching the familiar hall where her 'sweet cocoon' was.

Her fingers ran through her purse searching for the clicking sound of the keys, just to pull them out a second later realizing something disturbingly rare.

'Is it me, or the door is open?'

And it was, slightly, but open anyways.

The girl felt confused, never in her life has she been this irresponsible. That couldn't have been her doing.

A little worried now, Kimberly took a peek inside.

The usual living room was dark but empty and there weren't any signs that indicated a break in. In fact, the furniture hadn't been moved even a little from its usual spot. Everything seemed normal.

…

Key word 'seemed'.

…

She slowly pushed the door completely open and walked inside with baby steps. There was no sound apart from her own breathing.

'Maybe I did forget to close it this morning'

If she thought about it, it could have been possible. Kim remembers her mentor needed her earlier than usual that morning and that she almost left barefoot because the stupid alarm didn't set off.

When people are in a hurry they tend to do the stupidest things no matter how prudent they are. No one is perfect and she was no exception to the rule, so with a relieved sigh and a reminder to pay more attention when distracted, the soon to be lawyer headed straightforward to the bedroom to get her pajamas. A bath was calling for her.

Perhaps, she should have waited a little longer before entering. Perhaps, she should have called for someone to go with her.

'Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...'

That's the only word she thinks of now. Because if she had done even one of those perhaps…she still would have been alive.

It all happened in slow motion, much to her dismay.

Kimberly opened her room's door and turned on the lights, just to find a man, a strange, black wearing, masked man, a thief, a stealer, crouched on the floor going through her stuff.

The first thing she wanted to do was scream, but that aspect was suddenly replaced with boiling anger when she saw the startled figure of the intruder.

"What the fuck are you doing in my house?" - Her words haven't born so much loathing before.

A thief...a filthy criminal. She wanted to be a lawyer for a reason, to help disappear all those bastards. Many friends told her she would not always help the innocent ones with that career. This, Kimberly was sure of. That's why she made the decision of helping people who really deserved it.

The only thing this one deserved though, was to rot in jail.

The man quickly turned around to completely face her, almost stumbling in the process. Despite the mask that covered his identity, the young woman could perfectly figure out his expression. The thief was nervous, but mostly irked.

'The nerve…the one who's being robbed here is me!' - Kimberly found herself thinking.

She took a step forward, and that was all the man needed to finally react.

He ran to the bathroom door to get to the living room through the other one, but the girl wasn't letting him get away and tried to follow him from the door she just went in a few seconds ago.

"HELP! SOMEBODY CALL THE POLICE, HE'S TRYING TO GET AWAY!" - she screamed as loud as she could while chasing the culprit, who was on his way to the entrance.

Luck was on her side - or not… now that she thinks about it - because she locked his only way out after getting home, and the guy saw himself trapped.

"Nowhere to go asshole! You have reached a dead end!" - Kimberly was so angered that she didn't think that 1) she was trapped inside an apartment with a volatile individual 2) she knew nothing about self-defense 3) there was the possibility that maybe no one had heard her and so help was not on its merry way.

…

That was going to cost her.

…

Mother Nature is pretty wise. When an animal sees itself trapped, the option that remains to be free is to attack, so when the man threw himself at her, she should have seen it coming.

She tries very hard to forget what happened after that but with no vain.

The sensation of being held against her will still lingers on her body. The painful...oh so painful feeling of being stabbed repeatedly to death is a complete nightmare that won't get away.

But the worst part is what came with it - the oxygen being taken away from her lungs, as well as her blood from her veins, her voice hoarse of so much screaming, her ears losing all sense of hearing, and the impression of her sight getting blurrier and darker until the only thing she could see…was black.

Now, she's constantly floating in an eternal sea of black. There's no sound, there's no movement, there's no time...just black.

She's getting sick of it. If Kimberly had known what death was like before, she would have done even the impossible to be immortal.

There were so many things she wished to see and do, a lot of people she wanted to help…and because of her stupidity, that won't be possible anymore.

She didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to her parents.

'My parents…' - the ones that probably didn´t know what happened to her or who did it- '…they must be awfully sad' - she thought with remorse.

…

'I'm a terrible daughter'

…

And in that moment, Kimberly found herself in a place more horrible than hell.

Time - if there even was one - kept ticking by, and the girl found out something really strange.

She has the sensation of being surrounded by, walls? Yes, soft walls, and they have started to make her personal space a little constricting. There are also those weird muffled sounds she hears once in a while, like people talking.

'Seriously, were the hell am I?'- she wondered for what was like the hundredth time there.

The walls were narrowing, she can barely move and that makes her nervous. She can also hear what are like screams of pain. She's scared.

She's being pushed all of a sudden. Struggling is useless, she just keep moving, and moving and moving.

...

...

…

First, there was darkness...then light.

'Kimberly Liam died on January eleventh, 2018 within the walls of her apartment in Broadway, New York.

…

But in another time, in another place, in another world...someone else was born'

Hey guys! Majopi here. I hope you liked it. This idea has been going on for a while, and I just need it to get out of my head XD. What do you think about it?

PS: If you see some mistakes in my writing don't be afraid of telling me. I'm not an English speaker; anything that can help me get better will be greatly appreciated.

Majopi out!