INTERLUDE 1: NICO ROBIN

A/N: This is a short piece about what Robin was up to while Harry was sailing all over the place searching for her after the Ohara incident. Warning, there will be violence, evil town folks and general unpleasantness all round for our poor little black haired protagonist.

The new chapter – 'Meetings of New and Old' will be up in a week or two, depending on my temperamental muse and time limitations. As always, my sincere thanks and gratitude to you readers for your support ^_^

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INTERLUDE 1: NICO ROBIN

Robin woke in the dark. Through the slats on the window shades, the first murky hint of dawn slipped, slanting shadowy bars over the bed. It was like waking in a cell. Fortunately for the nine-year-old girl, she was still free, safely away from the pursuing marines and people who wanted to catch her for a reward.

For a moment she simply lay there, shuddering while the dream faded. After six months on the run, Robin was still having dreams every night, nightmares of being chased in the dark, of bloody hands reaching out and screams for help from the dead that resided in Ohara.

Six hours before, she'd killed a man, had watch death creep into his eyes. It wasn't the first time, and probably wouldn't be the last time she had exercised maximum force, or dreamed. Robin had learned to accept the action and the consequences.

Still, the sound of neck breaking when she used her devil fruit ability haunted her. It was a quick kill for the persistent Marine who had chased after her long after the rest had fallen back. It was unavoidable, for if Robin hadn't broken the man's neck, he would have shot her in the heart.

She didn't want to die – no, she is a survivor, and will continue with her wretched existence until the truth, the real history hidden away by the World Government is uncovered.

Making her way to the small bathroom, she winced once at her reflection. Her blue eyes were swollen from lack of sleep, her skin nearly as pale as the corpses she had seen. Rather than dwell on it, she washed her face quickly and made her way downstairs to the kitchen.

Stopping just outside the slightly opened kitchen door, she heard murmuring from the kind, elderly couple who had taken her in for the night, offering her shelter from the heavy rain.

"Hey, should we really be doing this? I mean, she's just a little girl, right?"

"It's too late old man, I have informed the Marines and they will be coming for her soon. Besides, haven't you heard? She has committed numerous murders despite her young appearance. We won't be safe…and you have to admit that the reward for informing her whereabouts doesn't hurt either…"

Trembling hands held tightly over her mouth to prevent her gasp of shock, Robin silently retreated towards the backdoor. It shouldn't have appeared as a surprise; after all, this isn't the first time she was betrayed and she really should have known better, but she was just so tired from running all the time…no, she can't give up, just a little bit more…

The disillusioned girl dashed out of the house as silently as she could, her small figure melting into the darkness of the night. In the distance, she could hear the Marines making a ruckus back at the house. Heart pounding, Robin increased her pace through the town, desperately seeking a place to escape to. As her feet instinctively brought her to the port of the town, she saw a few ships docked there. Yes, this could work – she would stow away on one of the ships that's departing the town in the morning. Looking up at the night skies, Robin estimated that dawn would come in about 5 hours.

She ducked into an alley nearby that had several large garbage bins lying around. The alley was dark and stank of the day-old garbage spilling out of the bins. It wasn't the ideal place to hide, but it could be worse – at least there weren't any humans around. Robin slipped into the fetid, damp-edged shadows and headed towards the corner of the alley that seemed the cleanest in the area.

Crouching there silently, she waited, trying to ignore the coldness in the air, and in her heart. Will it ever be warm again?

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Years had gone by since the world government had destroyed her home, the Ohara island. The little girl who had escaped from her home, and subsequently on the constant run has grown into a teenager who's somewhat an expert stowaway on ships, mostly undetected. Any unfortunate person who managed to detect her presence and attempt to capture her all met their demise quickly.

While on the run, Robin had been trying to gather information on the true world history that was hinted about in the hidden library of the Tree of Knowledge, but there was little progress made.

Now that she had exhausted her search on every island in the Four Blues, Robin is in a slump. There had been an idea growing at the back of her mind, but she wasn't certain about her decision. Would she survive where so many others had failed?

She does not know, but there is little choice but to penetrate the Red Line and continue on with her search in the Grand Line, a place she had not ventured into before. Making up her mind, she hastily headed to the town where most would make a stopover before the Grand Line.

On top of the highest building in Loguetown, clad in a crisp navy blue button-up shirt paired with denim shorts belt round a slender waist, Robin's cool blue eyes that almost hidden by silky black bangs of hair surveyed its surroundings carefully.

She looked down to see a small crowd surrounding a blond-haired musician who was performing a cheerful piece of music. There was a raven-haired man who caught her attention for some reason. Observing the man, there was something familiar about him…

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A/N: Dahahahahaa! I'm really bad to keep you hanging there, aren't I? Will Robin recognize Harry and go forth to meet her childhood friend? Hmm…stayed tuned to find out in the next chapter!