Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

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Koala sat huddled in the rusty shed she had sought refuge in, her knees pulled up to her chest as she sat on the cold floor. Her clothes were a complete and utter wreck, far from the prestigious attire they had once been, stained with both dirt and mud. There was a storm raging outside, lightning illuminating the skies like explosions while the sound was loud enough to make the small building shake as rain pelted the roof relentlessly.

Everything had gone so wrong so quickly that it was more than unbearable. Only a handful of weeks had been and gone since she was an unofficial member of the Sun Pirates, remembering how fun it had been to sing along with Hachi, how fun it had been to stand atop the crow's nest and gaze across the endless ocean, how fun it had been to be part of a family.

Her family.

Her family had risked everything in order to try and get Koala back to her parents, in doing so they had walked right into a trap set up both by the marines and the people of the village, her parents partaking in the death of her family members. For a young girl such as Koala this had been too much to handle, knowing that in doing what they had believed was the right thing to do had brought them death. Days had passed where she had just wished that in the presence of the Tenryubito that had owned her she had cried, just showed that glimmer of emotion which would have caused them to shoot her dead. If that had happened, Fisher Tiger and other members of her family would still be alive, still doing what they loved.

A loud roar of thunder forced Koala's hands up to her ears in a desperate attempt to silence the sound as tears streamed down her face. Fisher Tiger and the rest of her family had helped regain the feeling of being human, despite not being human themselves. Yet here she was, unable to do anything to help them knowing just what it was that fate had in store for her. Despite the proud emblem now burned onto her back it didn't hide the fact that it covered something much more malevolent in nature, something which stripped her of anything remotely resembling humanity.

She was property.

Her parents soon showed their true colours and were willing to hand her back to the Tenryubito in order to not face their wrath. She had been eavesdropping on a conversation they were having with a man in a black suit who had appeared on the island only a few hours earlier. When she learned of what was going to happen to her she fled as quickly as she could, running as fast as her legs could take her.

Thankfully the island was a large one and she had managed to find shelter out in the middle of an abandoned property. Instead of seeking refuge in the boarded up building she went straight to the shed knowing full well that the building was more likely to be inspected than the shed. Koala knew they would chase after her soon; the Tenryubito would not permit failure.

Koala took a quick intake of breath as wind blew tree branches against the iron shed sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard. She knew with every passing minute they would be getting closer to her location. They wouldn't care about the weather when their necks were on the line; the wrath of the Celestial Dragon's would not be spared because of a pitiful excuse such as rain. Koala knew they were just a much a prisoner as she was, a death sentence able to fall upon their head the moment they didn't succeed in a given task.

Rubbing her temples, Koala tried to think of a way to get away from here. She knew that if she stayed on the island she would be tracked down eventually, brought forth kicking and screaming to the hell she once belonged to. The blood, bruises, sweat and tears, she would rather choose death! Now though, now she needed to live.

"The port!" she said, realising what she had to do. In order to escape the hell that awaited her she needed to get to the port on the other side of the island. There was a small fishing community there, probably only a couple of miles from where she was now (provided she remembered correctly). If she could get on a boat, steal it if need be, she'd have a better chance of survival out with the Sea Kings than by going back.

Koala tried to push herself to her feet but slipped, her hands still wet from the rain she had previously run through. Her petite fist slammed against the ground, the bones nearly breaking from the pressure. She wanted to be back with her family aboard their ship, dancing, fighting and living every day to the fullest.

Sniffing in the snot that had threatened to drip to the floor, Koala managed to successfully pull herself to her feet, a determined glint in her eyes. She didn't know where Jimbei and the remaining members of the Sun Pirates were but she would find them and become their first official crewmate who was human. Walking up the iron door, she pulled it open only to see a man in a black suit standing only a few feet away, his eyes focused far in the distance.

Koala paused, praying that by some chance, by some miracle the man had failed to hear the sound of the door opening. It was not to be however as he craned his neck towards the shed, his eyes locking directly onto hers. "There you are," he said as a twisted grin spread across his mouth much like how a predator would know it's prey was cornered.

Koala screamed as she slammed the door shut and pressed against it with all her body weight, compared to the brute force this man mustered however she was nothing. Her frail body slammed across the ground before he stepped inside, his footsteps echoing as she pushed herself to her hands and knees. A scream escaped her lips as the man grabbed her by the hair, wrenching her neck back painfully. "You're not going anywhere," he said sadistically.

"Please, no," she pleaded as tears began to well within her eyes.

"You dare speak back to me!" shouted the man as he pushed forward, Koala's head bouncing off the ground with a sickening thud. "You're a piece of trash, worthless garbage. You're property, you don't have the right to speak, you don't have the right to have an opinion, you don't even have the right to die! You serve your master like the good little bitch that you are, you got that!"

"I won't go back!" screamed Koala.

A thick hand found its way around her throat, lifting her clean into the air, her feet dangling off the ground as his fingers tightened closing off her air circulation. "Listen to you, 'I won't go back,'" spat the man, saliva splashing across Koala's face as she struggled to breath. Her fingernails tried to dig into the man's skin but he ignored what little pain she was inflicting on him. "You're a worthless mutt! A bitch with a collar that learned how to walk on two legs!"

"Pl...ease," she managed to gasp out as her vision began to cloud over. She was given some manner of reprieve as she was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor but before she could take any form of oxygen intake a boot was planted straight into her chest, kicking her into the iron wall.

"Please, please what?" asked the man. "Please rape me? Please beat me senseless? Please treat me like the crap that I am? I could kill you right now and nobody would bat an eyelid but no, I'm happy to watch you suffer as the brand is placed on your skin, burning your flesh to mark you as the unnamed, unwanted slave you were born to be!"

"Leave her alone," said a new voice, causing the man to shift on his feet, twisting his head to find himself looking at another child.

"Oh look, your pretty ass boyfriend's here to rescue the damsel in distress," mocked the man, considering the child not even a threat despite the large pipe he held in one hand. "Whatcha gonna do? Beat me over the head and run away with the girl and live happily ever after? FORGET IT! She's a slave, a piece of property and if you even think of taking another step inside this shed I will kill you without hesitation." As if to prove his point, the man opened up his jacket slightly to show that he had a gun in his hip pocket.

"You know what?" said the boy, his calculated eyes staring directly at the man. "That's not a bad idea."

The man could only blink before the blond haired kid charged forward, the lead pipe already imbedded in his stomach before he had reached for his gun. The man pulled his leg back, fully prepared to kick this runt across the side of the head but found himself unable to do so, Koala seemingly having recovered just enough to latch onto his leg and prevent him from kicking her saviour.

"YOU LITTLE FU..."

Whatever he intended to say was unable to be completed, Sabo's fist having driven itself into his throat, the man coughing up a vicious amount of blood. The man dropped to his knees, his hands around his throat as if clenching at his skin would ease the pain. His end came swiftly enough though as the blond swung his pipe directly into the man's temple, killing him instantly with a gut wrenching crack.

"Well that's over," said the blond as he tilted his hat ever so slightly. "Are you alright?"

Koala looked up at the boy, he couldn't have been any older than herself yet she couldn't help but be awed by the fact that he had charged forward to help her without a second thought, despite already being injured if some of the bandage on his face were anything to go by. Unable to answer his question with words she meekly nodded which seemed to be good enough of an answer for the boy.

"Good," he said as he stood upright before turning around and heading towards the door.

"Please, please don't leave me!" pleaded Koala as she broke down in front of the boy knowing full well that if there was one man after her then more would soon follow.

"I wasn't planning on leaving you," said the boy confusing Koala mildly. "The guy said 'beat me over the head and run away with the girl.' Considering I've successfully beaten him over the head it's only right that you run away with me."

A smile unlike anything else spread across Koala's face as she got to her face and charged forward, embracing the boy in a vicious hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Hey, no problem," said the boy, unsure how to act with a girl hugging you.

"Oh, I'm Koala," introduced the girl as she released her stranglehold on the boy.

"Sabo," said the blond, tilting his head forward slightly gesturing the smallest of bows. "C'mon then, let's go."

...

This piece is anonymously submitted for a Halloween contest; please tell me what you thought of it in a review and fav it to help me win. Cheers.