Previously...

"Won't you play with me?"

Sayeko's POV

The waves lapped onto the shore gently, the soft sand turning a golden hinge of yellow as the sun set. My little boat was anchored nearby with my sling backpack resting inside. I sat down on the soft sand, clutching my black fedora hat. "Where am I?" I asked myself.

It had been three years since that dreaded night, three years since I started wandering from island to island alone, not that I mind. I've grown used to the lack of companions. For three years, I managed to survive on my own. I taught myself to steal and pickpocket so I had money for food. I also taught myself some basic self-defense, mainly with a dagger since that was what I found most comfortable to use.

"Who the hell are you? You're definitely not from here," A sudden voice behind me made me jump.

I turned around and came face to face with a raven-haired boy. In his hand he held a metal pipe, freckles splashed on his cheeks.

Ace's POV

Her shoulder-length brown hair cascaded down in luscious waves, moving with the cool breeze as she clutched a black fedora hat close. She wore a black sleeveless coat, with her back facing me as she watched the sunset.

That was the first time I saw her. Thoughts raced around in my head, Who's she? She's definitely not from here. I needed answers. Not knowing what else to do, I asked her, "Who the hell are you? You're definitely not from here."

She turned around to look at me. She had sea-green eyes that matched her chocolate brown hair perfectly. Wait, did I just say that? "Tell me yours first and I'll tell you mine," she replied putting her black hat atop her head before she turned back to watch the sunset.

That was the first time anyone had ever said that to me. No one had ever addressed me that way, Is she really that different?

I came down to sit beside her. Another first for me. I had never sat down beside anyone that way. No one wanted me to. Something told me I could trust her, that she was different from all the others. That look in her eyes, I just knew I had seen it before. I just couldn't place a finger on where.

"Ace. Portgas D. Ace," I told her, "What's yours?"

"Sayeko, just Sayeko," she said, then, she turned to me and smiled, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance!"

Sayeko's POV

I turned around and smiled at him, "Pleased to meet your acquaintance!"

I didn't know why I did it but I did. Something inside me just told me that he really needed it. My instinct, I guess. That familiar look in his eyes, I have it too. They say the eyes are the windows to your soul. I say they are the windows to my past. He looked shocked, to say the least. Guess this must have been the first time anyone said that to him, I thought.

He looked down and his expression darkened. "What's wrong?" I asked him, I didn't want to be the one to remind him of whatever he went through. I knew it the moment I saw him, he must have been through hell. I could see through it, that longing he had in those brown orbs. His response was something I didn't quite expect though. It was a question, and one that was out of the blue at that.

"If Gol D. Roger had a son, would it be good that he was born?"

Why would he ask a question like that? A normal person wouldn't typically say that, so why? It wasn't that I had anything against it, it was just... strange, I guess. Unless... It was then that it hit me. I sighed, You must have really gone through hell, huh?

I stared out at the sunset and questioned, "It's you, isn't it? It's either you or friend, am I not correct?"

His eyes widened in surprise. I laughed, my body felt light, like a huge weight had been lifted from me. When was the last time I felt this way? I questioned myself, then smiled, Sure has been a long time, hasn't it?

"H-how'd you know?" He stuttered. I chuckled, "You shouldn't go around asking questions most people wouldn't ask, you know?"

Ace, as I came to know him as, groaned, Guess he should've known, huh? Then, he said, "Don't tell anyone about it."

I laughed and agreed, "Very well, my lips shall be sealed."

We sat there in comfortable silence, watching the sky turn dark. Thousands of luminous petals (A/N: A figurative speech used to describe stars) freckled the indigo night sky, twinkling in its wake with a bright radiance. The turquoise waves were calm and the soft beach seemed even more beautiful now that the moon was up.

Alas, with the ever-peaceful silence, comes the never-ending train of one's thoughts. Memories of that night flashed before my eyes. The screams, the inferno... everything came back as vivid as ever. It was the anniversary, today three years ago, pirates came and attacked my village.

"So?" Ace asked, breaking my train of thoughts, for which I was grateful, "You haven't answered my question."

I snapped back from my daze, laughing sheepishly, "Oh, dear me, my apologies!"

I paused to collect my thoughts before answering, "Whether it was good that he was born, only he, himself, can answer that question. People may-no, will-call him a demon, the devil's child, one who shouldn't even be given a chance to live, but I think that just because your father is Roger, doesn't mean that you can't be given a chance to live. To me, it doesn't matter who your parents are, everyone is a child of the earth and sea."

Ace's POV

Doesn't matter... if you're the son of... Roger...? Everyone's... a child of... the earth... and the... sea? No one... has ever... said that to me... I sat there taking in all that she had said, She really is different than anyone I've ever come across... not even Dadan said those things to me... not like she would, anyways.

Tears began to form in my eyes, blurring my vision. I hate crying. It makes me look weak. Then again, I couldn't even remember the last time I cried.

"Well then," she stood up and walked over to a little boat anchored a few feet away, "I better find a place to stay for the night. It's getting dark." With that, she reached inside the boat, slung her sling backpack over her shoudlers, and turned to stalk off into the woods

My body seemed as if to move on its own. I got up and went after her, "H-hey, do you know where you're going?"

She hummed in response, "Well, not really, it's my first time here, but seeing as this is a forest, I'll probably just find a tree to sleep in."

"A-are you sure?" Damn this stupid stuttering of mine... "You do know there are tons of things here, right?"

"I'll be fine," she smirked, still calm and composed, "How'd you think I survived all these years? Playing innocent?"

With that, she turned and disappeared into the woods. I stared after her before walking back to Dadan's house. What is it with me today? I sighed, fingers raking through my hair again, like always.

Sayeko's POV

Son of a demon, huh? Certainly rings a bell... I was almost certain I had heard the phrase before, in the far depths of my mind, like a memory that had faded all too soon.

The forest was like a woody heaven, a leafy paradise. The trees, skyscrapers of the glades, towered over the little forest creatures. Swinging from vine to vine, everything around me was a blur, yet I could see still everything in great detail. Scurrying squirrels searched for food under the bristles of wispy moss as the nocturnal creatures began their day. I would certainly love to go exploring here, maybe tomorrow, I thought to myself.

Just then, a slight hinge of blue caught my eye. I swung onto the tree to take a closer look, landing gracefully and silently, to take a closer look. 'It' was a boy. He had curly blonde hair and a large black top hat with a pair of blue goggles wrapped around it. The hat rested on his head, partially shading his face. He sported a blue jacket, or rather, a mini trench coat, with the sleeves rolled up, a crisp-white cravat and a pair of light blue cyan shorts held up by a belt with an elaborate flower-design buckle. (A/N: Credits to Wikia for the description of Sabo. :)) A long metal pipe rested beside him, his hand wrapping loosely around it in case of a late-night attack. It certainly does look like the one Ace had with him, I reckon he must be a friend of Ace's.

I settled onto the space opposite him. The night was my most favourite time of the day. Just as I was about to sleep, a vision entered my mind.

"What should we do, Alex?" A feminine voice asked. I was engulfed in darkness, voices were the only thing I could hear. "She's our daughter, but to the world, she'll be the daughter of a demon."

A demon's... daughter? What does it mean? There has got to be something more to this. My parents are not demons, or are they really? Could they have been hiding it from me? Or it might be...? Never mind, I doubt that would have been the case... but I can't ignore the possibility. It is rather probable.

The cool night breeze blew through the canopy of leaves, lulling me to sleep.

Sabo's POV (Ya'll know who he is so I'm not gonna say anything)

(A/N: Play the melody now, stop it whenever you want to but not until the 'lullaby' part is over.)

I woke up rather bleary-eyed, it was the same place I slept at last night. The morning sun shone through the green forest leaves as I got up and rubbed the crust out of my eyes. I took in the morning breeze when the sound of a beautiful melody filled my ears, What's this melody? It's like a lullaby... I looked around and my eyes fell on a figure on a branch higher up.

Her legs dangled in the breeze as she perched there, playing the melody on her flute. The flute itself was transparent pink and a sling backpack rested near where she sat. She had on a long sleeve less black coat with a black fedora hat atop her head. She had silky shoulder-length brown hair but with the way her eyes were closed, concentrating on her music, it was impossible to tell what her eyes were like.

Then, as if she could sense my presence, she stopped playing to speak, "Oh, you're awake. My apologies, did I wake you?"

"No, not really," I replied as she hopped down onto the little 'platform' I slept on. "Just curious," she said, "but where did you get that pipe? It looks rather similar to that of an acquaintance of mine."

I gave the girl a thoughtful look, Metal pipe? The only person around here with a metal pipe, that I know of, at least, would be Ace. "By 'an acquaitance', do you happen to mean a black-haired boy with freckles?" I asked for confirmation.

"Why yes," she replied, "So you certainly are an acquaintance of his. I just met him yesterday at sundown by the beach. Back to the question, how did you get the pipes and what would you need them for?"

"Well, Ace and I usually go hunting together to get some food and we need weapons to use so we just, you know, found these at Grey Terminal and used them as our weapons."

"Oh, I see," she told me, "You are from around here, am I right? Would you mind showing me around? The name's Sayeko," She extended a hand for me to shake. I gladly took and smiled at her, "Sure. Call me Sabo, just Sabo."

"Well then, where will we be going?" she asked as we swung down to the ground. I grinned at her, "We're going to collect some money, then meet up with Ace and go hunting."