" Eto... Kaasan, this thing is a little... Uncomfortable ."

"Ah, but it's necessary!"

"Eh? Honto?"

Maiko tried to pull of the black leather that stuck to her like a second skin. An 'undercover outfit' was what her mother refereed to it as, a full-body, shiny suit with one zipper up the back, complete with a pair of black boots that went up to the middle of her calf. With her hair tied up into a bun, she felt a bit...weird. Though, uncomfortable was probably the most appropriate word for her situation, it wasn't exactly right. In fact, besides being a little tight, the suit felt perfectly fine. Perhaps, it was the fact that she was about to go out on a quest that's results would indefinitely break her mother's heart.

"Ahhh, there's that guilt... I was afraid it decided to take a break!" Her sarcastic inner comment was in reply to that pang of shame she felt radiate in her chest after that last thought. Rimi clipped onto her belt a Baby Den Den Mushi, making sure it was secure so it wouldn't fall off. Maiko shifted her eyes to her father who was leaning calmly in the door frame, enjoying the sight of his beloved wife preparing their daughter for her first ever mission. After fussing over her black cap, her mother took a step back and looked over her work, hands clapped.

"Kanpeki!" She squealed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. " This is so nostalgic! It reminds me of when you used to be enthusiastic with you're destiny!" Maiko sighed, falling into her bed and crossing her legs.

"I feel a story coming on..."

Six Years Ago...

"MINI-GOLDEN FLAME!"

With a cardboard sword the small girl of about eleven years came eagerly at the waiting man, slashing her toy. Without even sparing her a glance from his book, the man placed a hand on top of her raven hair, effectively stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Oi, Otousan!" she whined, stubbornly refusing to give up."Come on, attack me! I want some training!" Realizing ignoring her now would be futile the man dropped the book on the table, and crouched to eye-level of his daughter.

"Ma-chan," he cooed, petting her head" Otousan is busy. Why don't you go play with Kaasan?"

"Its not playing! I'm serious!" She stomped her foot, pouting cutely. The man couldn't help but pull his adorable daughter into a hug, and she promptly snuggled up to his chest.

"A 'Daddy's girl' , eh?" A voiced commented from the door. The man peeked over the little girl's head to see almost an exact replica of her- only taller and different eye color. He smiled at her, before picking the little girl up and carrying her over to her mother.

"Ne, Rimi-chan? What did you do that was so bad that Ma-chan is avoiding you." It didn't go past either of them the way their daughter tried to go away when her mother came. The woman shrugged, playing with the tip of her saber.

"You ask like I know. She asked for training, so I gave her training." There was a long, awkward pause.

"Rimi-chan?"

"Hai?"

"What kind of training?" That's the part where he figured something was wrong. His wife paused for a quick moment, and only someone with eyes of a hawk could see that shadow of dread that went across her face for a quick second. The next minute Rimi was gone, and only her black hair could briefly be seen flying around the corner with a rest of her. Her husband sighed, before placing his daughter on the floor, and resumed rubbing her head. She glared at the floor, murmuring unintelligible words.

"Ma-chan?" he asked tentatively. Biting her lip, she raised her head to stare at him with tear-filled eyes." Listen, Ma-chan, you have to know that Kaasan does not mean anything bad, okay? She just wants to help you." Maiko wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Help me? How?" He sighed.

"Well, you want to become strong so you can be the Senchou, right?" She nodded. " Rimi is only being so tough on you because she is worried. She wants to know if you can handle it, so you won't be hurt in the future. Its- er- her way of showing she cares." She stared at him, mouth gaping.

"S-So... Kaasan cares?" He smiled, nodding his head. Maiko jumped up to her feet and ran towards the door, before thinking better and running back to her still seated father, and threw her arms around his neck, squealing.

"Arigatou, Tousan!" she then zoomed back out the door, screaming at the top of her lungs. Her father was feeling rather good with himself, and standing up, decided it would be good to continue reading his novel.

"Ahhh, she was so lovely back then~~~ Practically gleaming with enthusiaism!" her mother said " In fact it wasn't until she went to that damned old woman-!"

"Dear, I think that started a little before that..."

Flashback

They never realized something was wrong with her. Sure, sometimes she would come home looking a bit depressed, but they figured it was something unimportant, like she couldn't solve a problem. Their response would be a kind smile, and a pat on the back, usually accompanied by a "Gambatte!" . She would nod, before locking herself in her room for a few hours. They assumed she took a nap, as she was looking rather tired each day, perhaps exhausted from her lengthy walk.

Everyday, except for Sundays, Maiko would pack aI bento ( "All by herself!" her Kaasan would gush), before grabbing her knapsack, waving her farewell to the nearby crew members ( "Have a good day, Ritorumisu!" was their reply) Before taking the trail down from the hill they lived on, through town, and to her school on the next hill over. She always assured her worried parents that is wasn't that long, so they thought nothing of it. She never talked about what happened at school though, and it became shrouded in mystery.

It wasn't until the day she came home in tears, with torn and muddied clothes that they ever found out what happened. When she heard that her daughter was being bullied, the fearless side Senchou of the Dancing Gold came out, and she was absolutely murderous. That's where her husband came in, with his 'magic' ability to calm her down, which only they could do. She softened up, before carrying her daughter to the baths, and washing her. The very next day they took a trip to Maiko's school, and had a little 'discussion' with the teachers there.

After that no one ever dared to mess with the daughter of pirates. In fact, the kids completely avoided her. Granted, she was no means popular from the beginning, but this was just ridiculous. If there was such a thing as an invisible barrier, then whoever made it definitely chose their daughter for the test subject. Even the teachers kept a good two feet away from her. On a warm night lying in her bed, it was then Rimi came up with a solution to help their daughter with her destroyed confidence that was the direct result of embarrassment and alienation. She turned and glomped on her sleeping husband, roughly awakening him.

"Ne, ne, Ren-kun! A trip! A vacation! Lets send her to that damned old woman!" He groaned, blinking away the sleep-induced blur froom his eyes, gently pushing his wife off him. Ren sat up, the blanket falling down further to cover his lower half. Running a hand through his messy brown hair, he turned green eyes toward Rimi, who was bouncing up and down.

"Your Okaasan? Why?"

"Because! If you know her, you know she can brighten up anyone! Yahoo! I'm so smart!" She continued gloating a wide grin set on her face. He tried to think about the possible consequences of this decision , but sleep was quickly seeping back to the edges of his mind. With falling eyelids he smiled, nodding his head in agreement, before all hope for staying awake for even another moment was gone, and he collapsed onto his pillow, going back into his calm slumber.

The next morning, bright and early, he watched with a growing migraine as his wife straightened the bow on the back of his frowning daughter's golden dress, wrapping her knapsack around her waist.

"Now, Yorun-kun, make sure that Maiko is safe okay?" The terribly muscled man saluted her, eyes straight ahead and unblinking.

"HAI, Oneesama! This Yorun shall guard the Ritorumisu with his life!" Rimi clapped again, something that Ren quickly noticed was becoming a habit. Sighing, he waved a goodbye to his Maiko, and was shocked when she glared instead of the usual 'I love you, Tousan' . He was a bit confused until she mouthed the word 'traitor' to him.

"Ahhh, looks like shes mad at me..."

"Aren't you going to give you're Tousan a hug?" he asked, opening his arms wide. She flinched, before running to Yorun and hiding behind one of his beefy legs. Ren shook his head and figured it would be best for her to 'cool down' first.

"Yorun-kun, please tell Maiko's Baachan that we send our greetings." He nodded before taking Maiko's hand and leading her out the door. Clasping his hands together in an imitation of his wife, he shut the door behind him, gazing at the back of the two figures, before they both disappeared around the lush, plant-filled corner, wondering how much his daughter's life could change within these few days...

" Ne, Tousan? How about some snacks?"

"Hai, Rimi-chan..."

Maiko shyly peeked up from beneath her bangs, green eyes gazing at the striking woman, almost dazzling with how much intimidation she struck into the small girl with just one glance of her narrow, hazel eyes. Yorun, her last hope at a possible comrade had long been gone, avoiding the miserable gaze of his Ritorumisu that practically begged for him to carry her back home on his shoulders. How he ever was able to possibly gather all this with only one glance was unknown.

Then again, anything was possible for a member of the Dancing Gold.

"I was not aware my granddaughter was mute." She jerked from the sudden break of silence, the husky voice surprising her. Biting the inside of her cheek, Maiko stubbornly refused to reply. Raising a slender eyebrow, Kimi patiently paced in front of the small girl.

"Such a plain appearance," she commented airily, inspecting her nails for dirt she knew was not there. Maiko made a small noise of offense, yet stayed quiet." Your hair is so flat... Oh, and your eyes! How dull and boring!" Wavering, she still bit her tongue, fighting back her words.

"And such tacky clothes!" That was the last straw! Besides herself, no one was allowed to insult her mother's poor sewing skills! Jumping to her feet, Maiko saucily placed her hands on her hips and raised her nose to the air, talking in a shrill, proud voice.

"Your clothes aren't any better! I mean, seriously, green and red? They clash horridly with your 'purple' hair! Tackiness seems to be a favored trademark of yours!" At the sight of the suddenly cool look on her Baachan's face, the girl instantly regretted her little outburst, smacking her hand over her mouth. The old lady slowly strode over to her granddaughter, face stern and serious. Maiko found herself slowly backing up, only to find herself back-to-back with the wall. Pale, thin lips curled themselves into a sneer, and violet eyebrows furrowed themselves in frustration. Kimi raised a wrinkled hand in the air and quickly brought it down as Maiko turned her face to the side, prepared for the strike.

She was greatly surprised when instead of smacking her, the hand instead pinched her cheek. She hesitantly open her eyes to see her Baachan's grinning face.

"What a smart, clever little mouth you have! Surely, you must be of my bloodline!" she quickly let it go, and Maiko instantly rubbed the sore area, which was now a bright pink. The old woman let out a hearty laugh slapping her roughly on her back. Being as small as she was, she was jerked forward, and would have fallen face-first on the floor if her Baachan didn't catch her, wrapping her arm around her waist.

"Ehh? A delicate one? Well, we'll fix that! How can a delicate person like you become the Senchou-!"

"STOP!" she yelled, covering Kimi's mouth with her little hands " I don't wanna hear it!" She pushed herself away, and ran to the other side of the room, taking cover behind a large chair.

"I don't wanna be Senchou! In fact, if you guys never became pirates that I wouldn't be so...so..." she trailed over, glancing to the side. At the sudden change in her expression, the old woman crouched down, and held out her hand.

"So... alone?" Maiko gasped, sitting back, clutching the fabric that covered the seat. She could hear the shallow breath of her companion, and pondered to herself. Was this one that she could trust?

"That's why they sent you here, right? Because you had bad experiences?" She stared blankly at the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. Though she said nothing, hear ears were listening intently.

"So what are you here for? For something good?" She made a small noise from the back of her throat.

"Baka! It doesn't take an idiot to realize that nothing good simply comes to you!"

"Then how am I supposed to have nice things, then?" She questioned in a soft voice. Kimi magically appeared beside her, and patting her bowed head, answered her with a large grin painting her face.

"You have to be the one to grab it!"

That small vacation was one that Maiko never forgot. It was two weeks filled with absolute bliss- she had finally found a friend.

Her grandmother taught her many interesting things like which mushrooms to eat, how to light a fire, how to pick a few locks... Yes, it never occurred to her that these were secret lessons on how to survive life as a Pirate.

Though, despite her Baachan's obvious disdain to her granddaughter's opinion of the 'family business', they got along together greatly. Often they would find themselves lost when taking the usual morning walk- in fact, that is how they discovered their 'special place'.

A lovely meadow, right near the ocean. A cliff it was, filled with lush foliage. Maiko often found herself rolling through the bright green grass and colorful flowers. They followed a routine- They would arrive, she would gush over the spectacular view, her Baachan would tell a story of one of her grand adventures, and she would wander off. She would frequently find herself gathering the beautiful blossoms, decorating her hair with them, and then throwing the rest into the light blue ocean water, watching as the wind blew them along cerulean waves.

"Ne, Ne, Baachan!" she would call, bounding over to the old woman who would lay sprawled across the ground, either staring at the sky or reading one of her many novels " Aren't these pretty?" Her arms would be overflowing with whatever she picked, various things that piqued her interest, or appealed to her young eye.

"Yeah... They are." Then Kimi would watch as Maiko threw them in the air, and spin around among the berries, acorns, and plants as if they were a magical rain. The look on her face was precious, absolutely delightful. It was times like this that she enjoyed her life, and the fact she decided to settle down.

But of course, all good things come to an end.

One the last night they were to be together before Yorun came to bring the Ritorumisu home. She had planned for them to have a night picnic- it was one of those 'special nights' when they stars were luminous and plentiful. A feast had been prepared, the meat cooked, and the drinks cooled.

Imagine her surprise when she arrived home from taking a quick trip to the village, only to find her granddaughter nowhere. Those were a frightful few hours. She had immediately dropped her hand-woven basket, running out the door and towards the forest. That's probably were she was; the only other place was the trail, and Kimi would have saw her.

Her hiding place should have been predictable- for a child, Maiko had a rather low amount of imagination and creativity- yet her Baachan's deducting skills were a bit dulled, as her worry greatly outweighed it. The forest was very thick, the sunlight casting a green hue as it was filtered through the leaves- that is, the small amount that could even get through.

After a while, she realized something was wrong. Despite how her emotions were a bit overbearing at this moment, she knew this place like the back of her hand- finding her granddaughter should have been a piece of cake! Gritting her teeth, she decided to stop looking blindly, and start using her head.

Maiko was a small child, and most small children shared similar fears like the Dark, Wild animals... In fact what kind of child would wander through a place like this when the sun was lowering so quickly? If anything, she would be hiding! With that thought in mind, Kimi began looking behind falling tree trunks, inside small caves, until there was no place left. She had gone over the entire area, even resorting to searching the house one more time.

Then it hit her.

Grabbing the basket of food, she sprinted out the house at an alarmingly fast pace for a woman her age, and to their 'special place'. Sure enough, her granddaughter was sitting on the edge staring out with a blank look in her eyes.

"Oi... Oi , baka!" she called. Maiko jerked, as if she was just waking from a dream. With a soft, wavering voice, she spoke to he Baachan rubbing her eyes.

"I... I got lost..." she admitted, her arms dropping to her sides " I wanted to set up for the picnic but... but it suddenly got so dark... I was-"

"Scared?"

"Hai."

With a sigh, Kimi sat next to her, slipping her feet into the cold water. Automatically, Maiko leaned on her shoulder, letting out a small sob. They stayed there for a while, staring at the stars that beamed, seeming so close as if they could reach out and grab the gleaming lights in their eager hands. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted over to the small girl's nose, making her stomach rumble in hunger. With one look at her Baachan they decided to start the picnic, and enjoyed a delicious meal together.

"Here." she said, while they were laying down and staring at the sky. She swiftly pulled one of the three gold ribbons from the back of her hair, the purple strands falling out from their designated position and curling over her shoulders. Grabbing her granddaughter's left arm, she tied it around her, and let it go. Entranced, Maiko watched as the moonlight bounced off the reflective material, sparking a bright fire in her eyes. With an amused smirk, Kimi patted the girl's head, which was quickly becoming her preferred method of showing affection, and grabbed her hand, the other picking up the basket.

"Come on, now." she said smiling down at her " We have to get you ready for Yorun-kun tomorrow."

Her death was a sudden event. About two years after her little vacation, they had received a message stating her death. She had apparently collapsed in the middle of the market, from a weak heart.

Those were gloomy times. The childishly innocent Rimi had grown cold and distant, always sporting a sullen face. Even Maiko found herself shedding a few random tears at various times. She was depressed herself at losing her only, and closest, friend.

In fact, it wasn't until she received her Baachan's last two hair ribbons, apparently a gift that was ordered be delivered to her. It was then she decided that something must be done, to keep more of her friend with here. Therefore, one night when the house was deserted as her family was required to attend some meeting, she had sneaked into the room of Sarah, the Dancing Gold's disguise master. She had tip-toed past the one sleeping crew member left to watch after her, climbing the steps to the attic bedroom, before she opened the oak door to reveal a light blue and gold centered room.

She had found exactly what she was looking for in a case of various hair dyes set on a wall. Striding over to them she picked up the one dark purple she could and held it up to the light.

" Hmmmm..." she thought to herself " This is a bit too dark.." She searched a bit more, before finding what she thought was the solution for her latest predicament. Another vile of dye, this one a lighter shade of violet. She stood on a chair and grabbed a mixing bowl, before setting it on the floor beside her other supplies.

With a steady hand, Maiko dropped a generous amount of the dark dye, then to lighten it up a bit, she carefully mixed in a few drops of the light shade. With a brown spoon she mixed them together for a few minutes, paying attention to any noise that could signal that something was coming.

"Why isn't it mixing?" she wondered out loud. Instead of brightening up, the two colors only seemed to float along with each other. Despite her persistent efforts, they would not mingle no matter how much stirred. Eventually, with aching arms she stopped, and leaned back on the balls of her feet.

"Maybe... maybe it will mix once I put it on my hair?" With that thought in mind, Maiko placed the tool next to her and began her job. Her hair... It had to be I exactly /I like her Baachan's. So, grabbing her next utensil, a small, black knife, she grabbed a fistful of hair, closed her eyes, and with held breath carefully cut her hair shorter. Slowly, she peeked over and saw that her once long hair now fell only to her shoulders. She sighed, and continued going through the rest of her head.

Finally, she was done with that phase. Her raven locks felt much lighter now, and as she ran her hands through her new hairstyle, she wondered whether the length was exactly right... Well, it would have to do.

Now, it was time for the hardest part. She looked into the pot once more at the dye, and gasped... She was really going to do this... Maybe she should wait?

" No" she thought, determination taking it's place in her heart " I have to... For Baachan."

I love you, Baachan...

"And when we all got back, this little brat-" Rimi jerked her thumb in the direction of her nervous daughter " had her hair all over the floor! Do you know how hard we worked to grow it that long?" Recalling her previous annoyance and exasperation, she picked up one of Maiko's books which rested on her oak desk, and threw it at her. Flinching, she put up a hand to block the incoming object, which bounced off easily and landed to the floor with a small thud.

"Oh, and lets not forget the color ! I mean, really! No matter what it won't go out. She just had to use Sarah's new perma-dye, which cost a fortune, by the way! You're lucky she didn't kill you right there." Sighing, she pushed her bangs out of her face, replacing her small frown with a wide smile. Clasping her hand's, she turned to her daughter beaming.

"Well, that was the past. We don't have to worry anymore, because -" she leaned down and pulled the girl into a warm embrace " You are finally accepting your Fate!"

"Eh-heh... About that, Kaasan..." Her mother paid absolutely no attention to her as she easily pulled Maiko off the bed and pushed her towards the door.

"Now, now, tell me when you get back! Can't let the window of opportunity pass, can we?" With one more shove, the young girl tumbled out of the door, and into the waiting arms of two crew members. Grinning, they informed her that the transportation to the lookout area was all ready and prepared. They proceeded to drag her, not noticing that the heels of her shoes were digging into the carpet as she flailed in their muscular arms, or hearing her mumbled protests.

"Wait..wait, KAASAN!" she called over her shoulder " What am I supposed to do?"

"Leave it to luck!" was her simple reply.

And now, crouched knee-deep in damp mud, equipped with nothing but a few matches, gasoline, and a lot of ropes, Maiko peeked through the binoculars at all of the marines keeping guard. Letting it fall to her lap, she buried her face in her hands and let out a strangled cry.

"Dou shiyou?"