Previously...

Her hand ran through the cool water. A smile graced her lips. She bounded off the surface of the water, taking off yet again.

She looked down. Dawn Island. The island she had landed on three months ago. Three faces came to mind, Ace... Sabo... Luffy...

Something in her snapped. She had to get back. The war inside started again.

Until a gunshot was heard.

Third Person POV

"Luffy, repeat that sentence again," Sabo asked.

"'I'll be at the place it all started'," Luffy repeated.

Waves crashed onto the shore. Three seagulls circled the skies. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy sat down near the cliff they always go to. It had been a day or two since the Polchemy incident, they hardly ever kept track of time. Sayeko hasn't come back, neither were they able to find her. They had searched all over the Grey Terminal, almost the entire island.

The switch turned on.

"Ace, where did you meet Koko?" Sabo asked again.

He was looking off into the distance, still trying to make sense of everything. Koko was missing. The only person who hadn't criticized him for being his son, aside from Sabo and Garp. She was smart, that much he knew. She should have returned by now. Then again, if what Luffy said was true, what exactly was she? She never mentioned anything about being a demon, let alone shown it. So, why now? Did she have to keep it a secret from them?

"Ace!" Sabo snapped him from his thoughts, "Where did you first meet Koko?"

"Huh? By the beach," Ace replied, "Why?"

"The beach?" Sabo confirmed, "Then, let's go!" With that being said, he, very literally, dragged Luffy back into the forest, "Ace! Hurry up!" Why hadn't I thought of that sooner?!

"Oi! Wait up!" Ace called to him as he grabbed his pipe and ran up to the two, "I'm coming!"

Like lightning, the boys sprinted to the beach, hoping to find who they were looking for.

"The place where it all started." There can only be four places she could be. Her hometown; the place she met Ace the first time; the tree she met Sabo the first time; and their old hideout. They didn't know where her hometown was. Even then, they knew her hometown was no more so it wouldn't do them any good to look for it. They had waited by their old hideout the first day, hoping for her to come back, she hadn't. There was only one more place to look.

Turquoise waves splashed onto the shore as the clouds frolicked in the wind. The sand beneath their feet, golden like the sun gleaming above their heads.

"KOKO! YOU HERE?!" Luffy started to shout, but was immediately tackled to the ground by Ace, "Idiot! Don't just go and start shouting like that!"

Sabo took a glance around the place. Forests to the right; a tiny rowing boat, gently rocked by the waves, to the right; sand beneath their feet; boulders near the boat...

Wait, boulders?

He cautiously took a step closer to the outcrop of boulders. Moss freckled the cold hard stone, waves lapping against them.

He spotted a tinge of green among them stones.

Just moss, right? He tossed a fishy look over. He didn't think it was his imagination, or was it?

"Oi, Sabo!" Ace called, jogging up to him, "What're you doing over there?" He stopped short as soon as he saw something on the floor. It was black. He instantly recognized it as he picked it up, "It's Koko's hat."

He looked around the area, knowing she must be near. This was the last reminder she had of her parents, she would never let it far from her sight.

"KOKO!" Luffy shouted from nearby, "You okay?"

An attention grabbing statement, that it sure was. The boys quickly scrambled over to where Luffy was. Their eyes widened as they saw the blood pouring from their friend, whispering, "Koko..."

Panic was evident in their eyes as Luffy, well, panicked, "Wh-what should we do?! Koko's bleeding a lot!"

"R-right..." Ace and Sabo got over their initial shock, if they didn't do something fast, she might die, "Let's bring her to Dadan's!"

Ace gave Koko a piggy back ride as Sabo grabbed her hat and pipe, along with his own, "Come on!"

"Oi! Don't leave me behind!" Luffy called after them.

They ran like the wind, like they had never ran before. Their friend's life was on a gamble. They hadn't a moment to spare. They knew she'd make it through this. She was strong. The thing was, she would never make it out of this, without a scar, a scar that runs deep.

Sayeko opened her sea-green eyes, but panicked a little when she couldn't seem to open her left. She lifted a hand, feeling the soft, bumpy texture of crisp white bandages beneath her soft gentle fingers, Where am I?

Above her were worn wooden walls. Pale lavender curtains fluttered over the window in the night breeze, iridescent moonlight shining its bright rays inside the room, wherever she was.

Loud snoring reached her sensitive ears as she turned to her left, leaving her wondering how she hadn't notice her friends dozing away beside her, Is this Dadan's house? A wet, cold towel fell onto her lap as she sat up, I was sick? She reached a hand out to touch the bandages eye again.

Her fingers came into contact with the gauze, she remembered the gunshot. The freedom she felt when she flew over the clouds, she remembered. The sheer terror she saw in the eyes of Polchemy and his henchmen. They had gone pale and fainted at the sheer sight of her, collapsing at her feet. She could sense the immense amount of fear Polchemy had radiated then. Despite that, he still challenged her. She had to applaud him for that. Hardly anyone dared to stand up to her after seeing that, despite her being, in all honesty, a little over ten.

Then again, she knew she had many questions to answer. Luffy had seen her. He was sure to tell the other two. It was a fact that they knew, by now, definitely. She longed to answer their questions as much as she yearned to answer her own. As much as she wanted to, she didn't have the answers to her questions left unanswered.

Was her entire life one big lie?

"She'll be the child of a demon," The words spoken in such a gentle voice, they held a much deeper meaning than she would ever know.

Were Misaki and Calico her biological parents? Why had they kept quiet for so long?

If she truly was a demon's child, it would make sense for them to keep it a secret from her, until she was older at least. She was six the last she saw her parents, of course they couldn't tell her yet.

Then again, all those other times she, supposedly, "brought" her demon out, she never had a clear memory of it. Only fuzzy pictures of what happened. Enough to leave her fazed about what happen, shrugging it off like nothing had occured. She knew that she had that demon inside of her, she just never knew how to control it. There was hardly anyone out there who could do the same, was there? She never knew.

She slowly lifted the thin blanket, stepping out of the room and walked along the corridor. A silent mouse, she crept down the stairs, stopping in front of a mirror.

A bandage wrapped around her head and left eye. Soft silky hair cascading from her head in luscious waves, reaching just up to her shoulders. She touched the bandages again, What happened? Was it the gunshot?

She gasped, dainty fingers quickly undoing the bandages. Her heart thumped against her little chest, afraid of the truth. You never place a bandage over the eyes unless there's something wrong with them. Like a gunshot wound right over the left eye, leaving her half-blind.

She stared at the wound, a gunshot wound. Her left eye long gone. She didn't know what to say, she just kept staring. This was what she was left with. Should the phrase, "An eye for an eye" ring true to the Bluejam pirates, she had no doubt it might be Polchemy or one of his remaining henchmen. They shot her down, not only that. She looked down at the bandages covering her arms and legs. Pain courses through her veins. I deserved it, didn't I? I was on the run for a long time. The Navy had put up a bounty after I left my hometown. Every town I went to, I was thrown out like an outcast, marines chased me to no end. Even when I did find a home with these misfits, people of whom I think of as brothers, the demon inside me still comes to haunt me. The world forever throws me out.

Tears threatened to spill over her little face, pouring out of the eyes that hold so much pain, seen too much suffering, Why? Why must it be me? It wasn't my biological parents fault, was it? Am I an accident? Should I have even been born?

Her crystal tears glistened in the pale moonlight, the light of the moon and stars illuminating her tear-stained face, Why? Why am I here? Why am I here if I'm just going to be a burden? They chase me out because they're afraid, fearing for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Marines chase me because of my bounty, they chase me because of their pride and honour as marines. They chase me to heave the people of the burdens that is me. The love I hold for those dear to me, may very well become the blade that threatens to end their lives. I don't want that! Why?

"Why?" She cried. She pulled her knees into her chests as the tears continued to fall, "Why?"

The poor kid, she thought as she picked up said child and tucked her into bed, dressing her wounds as they had been before. Dadan had heard of the girl before, and in all honesty, she hadn't wanted to take care of another little brat, but the face Ace had given her when he came back with Sayeko, she just couldn't refuse.

~Flashback~

The heavens poured down his tears as urgent knocks could be heard throughout the house. Annoyed that her job was interrupted, Dadan stomped towards the door. She opened it with a huge bang, shouting, "Who da hell–"

"Dadan! Help Koko! She's injured bad!" She? She had to do a double take when looking at Ace's face and the young girl on his back. His face was full of panic, and shock, impatience coursed through his veins as he shouted, "Hurry up and let us in! You can treat her wounds, right?!"

"R-right..." she stuttered as she moved aside to let the boys in, "Oi, Magra! Dogra! We need a medic here!"

"Coming!"

To say she was shock would be an understatement. Never in her life had she even dreamed about seeing Ace like that, let alone actually seeing it in front of her eyes. A first, that it sure was. She quickly closed the doors to avoid letting the rain in.

"Hey, Magra! She's gonna be alright, right?" Luffy asked, tear stains streaking his usually bright face.

"She should be alright," Maura replied, "Just don't disturb her yet." Dadan grabbed the three boys by their collars and dumped them in their room, "You brats just wait here!"

"Oi! What the he–" she slammed the door shut in their faces.

~End of Flashback~

The medic had to operate on her for hours to remove the bullet and stitch the wound up before dressing it nicely. She was lucky they had the basic equipment and know-how for these things.

Well, time for bed! She sighed to herself as she walked into her bedroom and face-planted herself onto the mattress.

The golden rays of the sun shone through the windows. She opened her eye again to see that she was back in the room she, supposedly, shared with the three boys, What happened? Didn't I cry myself to sleep by the mirror?

As soon as she attempted to sit up, she was taken down yet again by three boys she knew all too well, "Koko!"

"A-Ace... Sabo... Luffy..." She whispered.

"Don't try to sit up yet," Sabo told her, "Your wounds haven't healed." She took one glance at the bandages that wrapped around the three of them, "B-but you're also injured. How?"

"Just that bigass Tiger Lord," Ace replied, "He attacked us on the way back."

"I thought you were gonna die!" Luffy sobbed, rubber arms wrapping tightly around her, "Koko! Thanks, for coming to save me!" Her eyes widened in surprise before softening with understanding. She calmly rubbed his back to soothe him, "I'm not gonna die, and your welcome. It was nothing, really!"

"B-but..." Luffy was about to continue but instead bawled his eyes out again when she gave him a gentle smile, "I should be thanking you for bringing me here."

"Anyways, Koko," Sabo trailed off, "You do know..."

"Yeah, I know," she replied, fingers caressing the bandages, it had almost become a habit, "Don't mind it, I'll be alright, even if half-blind." She gave them a reassuring smile, speaking no words, yet, they understood her without question. The picture painted before their eyes speaks more than a thousand words.

"I am pretty certain that I have a lot of explaining to do," Sayeko started. She knew it would come to this at one point or another.

"Yes, you do," They deadpanned.

She heaved a sigh before opening her mouth to start. She only told them bits and pieces, so they wouldn't get too confused. Had she told them every little thing she had that may be a clue, it would just end up confusing them more. Even for her, everything's confusing as it is, how would they take it if she told them everything she knew?

Of course, adding in the fact that she had to explain most things in, what she had dubbed, "Luffy's terms". Telling them everything was definitely not a good idea. To put it simply, she simplified the whole problem.

She was from a little village in East Blue, but it was raided by pirates when she was six. She was the one who killed the pirates like how she killed Polchemy. The marines put a bounty on her head. Wanted: "Little Demon" Sayeko, 15,000,000 Beli. One of the highest bounties in the East Blue. For three years, she stayed on the run, surviving off of the little she earned through pickpocketing and her frequent dine-and-dash routines. Every time her "demon" came out, what remained were fuzzy images. Until she found Ace and Sabo here at Dawn Island. She never wanted to leave again. She wanted to stay, taste the freedom and live in the fun times they had given her. During that time, never once did her demon bothered her, for reasons "unknown". Until Polchemy, that is. And that was how they got to where they were now.

"I apologise," Sayeko continued, "For keeping all these a secret from you, I was just scared, that you'd throw me aside."

"We won't," Ace assured me, placing a hand on my shoulder, "We promise we won't,"

I lit up at those words, I was so scared they would...

"But..." Her heart skipped a beat there.

"You have to promise us you'll tell us the answers once you get them, alright?"

Her face lit up with a smile, a real one, "A promise, it is." The other two nodded in agreement, before Luffy deadpanned, "but I still don't get it."

The three older ones sighed. They had had to repeat the story several times now, "Listen, Luffy, anything you don't understand, it's called a mystery thing, alright?"

"Oh," Luffy smacked his fist into the palm of his hand, "So it's a mystery thing!"

Sabo sweat dropped, That's gonna cause more trouble in the future...

Sayeko laughed, I love these three! I swear, upon my life, I will protect them with all my might. Even should the world reject me or despise me, as long as I could be of help to them, I will be more than happy.