You loved the rain. That hadn't changed.

It came down in thick sheets that soaked through clothes and left puddles that quickly grew larger and linked with others until the water poured down the street drains. The sound of it's thunderous fall was like music to your ears, drowning out all your annoying thoughts and giving you a moment of blissful peace.

You stood out on the street corner, eyes closed as you let the water soak you to the bone. It was late out and anyone with a good head on their shoulders wouldn't come to this part of town this time of night. Even the cops veered away, too intimidated by the rough gang scene and other illegal activities that happened in the shadows.

It was the perfect place to hide in plain sight and that's exactly what you'd been doing for the past year. This place was far from the city you used to call home and completely foreign, exactly what you wanted.

It was always dirty here, the people were always hard up on cash for one reason or another. Drugs were easy to find if you were looking, among other things. You would've hated being around places like this before but now, it was home. You felt like you fit in and best of all, no one cared who you were or where you came from. That meant no one asked questions and no one tried to make friends. Unless you were working, you were left alone.

Through the rain, you could feel the dull itch of your dragon. It was aching to be let out, to make an appearance, but you were good at ignoring it. You hadn't shifted to your dragon self in such a long time that you no longer had the same urge to do so anymore. It took a while to reach that point, there was a long time when you felt like a recovering drug addict, wanting your dragon fix. But after killing, you refused to give in to that side anymore.

The feeling of the water sliding down your spine made you feel a tad weak. It wasn't quite like the ocean, but some days it felt like any kind of water could mimic the effects to some extent. You didn't mind though. It was cold and refreshing, sending shivers down your spine that told you you'd regret standing out here like this later.

The only part of this you didn't like was how you were dressed. You still had a strong dislike of constricting little dresses yet you wore them often. Part of it was for work and you were sure part of it was because you'd decided you liked making yourself uncomfortable. Now, you were wearing a skin tight blue one, just barely long enough to cover everything. The top squeezed your breasts tightly and forced them to spill out slightly, creating a view few could resist. With it, you wore fishnets and slick, black heels.

You weren't proud of what you did but you wouldn't say you were ashamed either. This beat killing for a living by a long shot. Besides, you did this whenever you felt it was necessary. No one made you do this, no one controlled your time or money.

A few other girls stood nearby, huddled under a small awning to keep the rain at bay as they watched you pace.

"You're going to catch your death Doll." A petite redhead warned you, just like she always did when she saw you in the rain.

"Nah." You let out a sigh, the hot air creating a misty cloud as it hit the cold rain. "I'll be fine."

They all knew you had some kind of devil fruit ability but they didn't know what and were smart enough to keep their questions to themselves. You liked that part of living here.

"It's getting colder every day. Soon that's going to be snow and you'll be singing a different tune." She huffed.

You couldn't help but smile. All the women around here looked out for each other. You never expected that much. But while you did like the occasional light conversation, you made it a point to never get close to anyone. Not again.

"That's probably true, I'm not a fan of the cold."

"And you'll catch one rate you're going." Another woman, this one with dark, chocolate colored skin added. Her attitude never failed to make your days a little brighter.

"I haven't yet." You replied as a group of business men came around a corner and made their way towards your group.

Umbrellas kept their heads dry while water splashed around their feet with each step. You could feel multiple sets of eyes land on you and the other women and knew some of you would be led off soon enough. Important looking men like them didn't come around for any other reason, not here.

They stopped in front of you all and the other girls immediately began vying for their attention. You stepped back under the awning and waited silently. Water dripped off the tip of your nose as you watched them grin lustfully and eye each woman as if they were shopping for a fancy car, weighing their options. Eventually, one man settled his gaze on you.

It was hard to tell in the dark but he looked further along in his years, the beginnings of silvery white hair mixing in with normally darker brown or black hair. His neatly trimmed beard was another story, much more of an even salt and pepper.

"What's your name?" He asked.

It was never hard to draw someone in. They always loved either your quiet attitude or mismatched eyes. That's why you never wasted your energy fawning over potential customers.

"Doll." You responded.

He chuckled. "Doll. That suits you. How about you come along then Doll? We can get you out of those wet clothes."

He offered his hand and you took it, following his lead as the other men slowly joined with their own choices hanging off of them. Depending on what your customer would want, you were betting you'd earn enough to be set for a short while. That was the closest you got to good things in life these days and you were okay with that.

----

The best part of spending the night with high-dollar businessmen was the hotels. Clean sheets and hot showers were a wonderful given that you didn't have where you stayed. After working for a few nights, you always found yourself back at the same old place you always hid away at.

The man paid you well but kicked you out after he was done, so you made your way through the drizzle that was left of the rain to your little hole in the wall. It wasn't even a rental, more of an abandoned, tiny apartment that sat above an equally abandoned old business. It had been boarded up years ago but half the boards were missing or rotted through. The front doors were missing, leaving a gaping hole for you to walk through.

You were sure this was once some kind of a retro diner. Dirty, red booths lined one side of the building with tables between them. On the other end was a long counter with stools lining it. A few were bent and cushions were ripped and shredded. There were stains on the wall behind the counter in the outline of coffee machines and other things you couldn't identify. Past that was a set of double doors leading to the kitchen you never went into.

Instead, you headed to the back of the room where a set of stairs were nestled behind a wall. You picked your way up them carefully until you reached your "home." It was easily more disappointing than the studio you lived in by your old friend Delilah. Your bed was a bare mattress sitting on the floor, a few blankets tossed over it. The only other furniture in here was a beat up dresser you kept your clothes and some food in. There was a bathroom to the side that still somehow had plumbing but it was nothing fancy. The only real perk to the place was the roof.

You peeled off your still wet clothes and threw them to the floor. When you decided you felt like it, you'd take your clothes to the laundromat and get them cleaned but for now, you'd ignore the pile. You changed into a warm sweater and jeans, adding a windbreaker to hopefully keep your clothes mostly dry as you popped open a window and slipped outside through it. You had to get a little crafty, twisting around and standing on the sill to reach the lip of the roof and lift yourself up.

But when you got up there and sat on the edge, kicking your feet back and forth, the view wasn't half bad.

"Best view in the city." You whispered to yourself.

You could easily point out where all the big drug dens were from here, the fighting rings, the strip clubs, everything really. This place was interesting in the way that everyone had their secrets but no one was afraid about being upfront about what they did. The law never got involved here, they were too focused on other, bigger cities. The ones with the more dangerous groups. That left ones like this one to slowly deteriorate into what it was now.

There was a delicate meow as your little furry friend, Clover, brushed up against you. Even with things how they were, she stuck by you. But then again, she was accustomed to living like this. She had free reign of the area and always came by when you were home for company. She was the biggest reminder of where you came from.

But you never had a single day where you regretted what you did. Leaving your past life behind was a good choice at the time. It didn't mean you didn't miss what you left though. And it wasn't the nice clothes or fancy apartment.

You missed the companionship you had with the people you knew. Of course you'd come to the conclusion that many of them weren't who you thought they were but there was Ivankov. You missed them more than you could ever say. When you left, you never told them you were leaving. As far as you knew, they probably thought you were dead, or at the very least long gone. More than anything, you wanted to go and see them. There'd been so many times when you almost did just that.

But that would've meant risking others seeing you. Last you checked, all the gangs and their members around your old home knew what you looked like. Going back was a risk you couldn't take. Anyone could see you and raise the alarm. Then again, you never stuck around or payed any attention to how things ended with the gang alliance you were a part of. For all you knew, the police could have found a way to intervene properly and carted everyone off to jail.

For the sake of certain people, you hoped not. Despite everything that happened, you couldn't get rid of the feelings you had. Some people you'd decided you hated and wanted nothing to do with ever again, namely Eustass Kid. Others, you thought about every single day and wanting nothing more than to be close to them again. Killer.

But you couldn't do that to yourself. It'd be the same thing all over again. They'd just use you to further their own agenda without any regard to what you wanted. You'd be nothing more than a tool, the dragon.

You had your rise and fall. You'd learned from it. That was why you lived how you did now. The dragon had disappeared and could no longer be used to hurt others. Things were better this way, safer. You didn't love your current life, far from it, but if it meant keeping the masses from having to fear you again, you felt it was worth it.

After all, the life of one wasn't worth the lives of many. You firmly believed in that.