A/N: I make a lot of connections in this chapter for exposition sake. Again, I loathe making original characters so that you might see familiar people in odd places in this chapter.

Chapter II

Silk panted as she attempted to keep up with Dragon and Renji. They had stopped at a restaurant, but apparently, the cooks did not provide enough meat for the duo, so they had to search for a place that could serve the correct proportions of protein. Maybe, they purposely wanted to tire her so that they could ditch her. Yes, the devilish partners must have conspired to abandon her at some point.

"Wait a minute!" shouted the blond girl. She watched the two men stop in their tracks and reluctantly trod back to her. "I want to stop at this fruit stand." She pointed at a scraggly old man with a stall of assorted produce.

Renji whined, "What? Fruit?" No one served any meat! Renji like other foods, but that variation of protein filled him the most.

Dragon approached Silk as well, but why? Maybe he felt the need to watch over her. After all, he did not hate her, and she happened to be kind of weak.

"Sir, you have amazing produce," Silk began as she gawked at the rainbow of fruits and vegetables. "Fahre is not only known for its silk but its fruit as well, right? I know you have a lot of different options." Her mouth agape and her eyes full of water wonder, she smiled. While she made up her mind on which fruit to buy, she took a break to listen to Dragon harass some kid.

The dark brute snatched a large, white ball from a young girl!

Silk never believed Dragon was evil, but she could not believe he would stoop to that level. Gripping the hilt, she cautiously unsheathed her sword. While she did not plan to slice him, her sword would give her a bit of leverage if he decided to reveal himself as an evil-doer. She pointed the tip of her weapons to the dark man's face and glared up at him.

Inching closer to the tip of her sword, Dragon dropped the ball and grinned, "You're still scared of me." He pushed his palms against the sides of her sword to control whatever swing she may have taken. Hopefully, she knew that he had the upper hand or else this situation could get a lot more troublesome.

However, upon staring her down, he visualized her nude as he saw her earlier that day. Why did he have difficulty getting that image out of his mind? Furrowing his brow, Dragon stared at her bosom. He also did not understand that feeling he received from looking at her.

As Dragon contemplated his sensations, Silk kicked him in the shin and sheathed her sword. "Why would you take that kid's ball? I expected better of you!" she lectured.

A small girl with her hair in a bun ran up to Dragon. "Thanks for getting my ball back from Mikoto," she thanked him. "Can you play ball with me?"

"Scram," sighed Dragon as he avoided eye contact.

The kid giggled, "What? I'm just saying thanks for taking my ball back from her." She passed the ball to him.

When the rebel caught the toy, he wasn't sure if playing with a kid would be a good idea. His strength could topple her over if he passed it to her too hard. To be safe, he kicked the ball to Renji and nodded.

Silk realized that Dragon had more softly spoken to the girl than he usually talks. He took her toy from a bully. Perhaps, the dark-haired man had some similarities to the pure-hearted Garp. Placing a hand over her racing heart, she realized that she had yet to get over her fear of him. Everyone told her that he got into fights a lot in his hometown. Someone told her that he even killed a man. Most people could not figure out why he joined the Marines.

Then, Silk looked over to Renji as he swiftly kicked the ball back and forth between the girl and Dragon. While she did not know much about Renji, she knew that he waited on his island's dock for weeks before a Marine ship passed by him. Some people said he jumped an entire kilometer to land on the vessel. He mentioned that he had little to say about his parents, but his father dropped him off on a destitute island. The villagers told him that his mother must have died since she never returned.

She watched as Renji kicked the ball upwards then backflipped to catch it with his head. However, when she looked back to Dragon, Dragon wasn't there! "Where did Dragon go?" she groaned. When she heard no response, she turned around to look for the conspicuous orange-haired guy, but Silk did not see him either.

"Bye, misters!" shouted the girl.

Silk ran in the direction that the girl had yelled. "Ugh! Guys!" complained the Marine.

A short distance away, Renji ran across rooftops to catch up with his friend. "I knew you were a softy!" he teased with a coy smile.

Crossing his arms as he ran down the streets, Dragon scoffed, "Tch."

"For a sec, I thought you were worried about Silk, too. You kept looking back when we went through the city earlier. Even though she's a clumsy fighter, she's tough, so she doesn't need," Renji began.

Dragon interrupted him, "I don't care about her. Leave me alone." Turning the corner, he disappeared into a dark alleyway.

"That guy's pretty funny," laughed Renji. "And fast, too." He bent over to catch his breath.

After wandering around for what seemed like an hour, Renji jumped down in front of an older woman. Her face turned blue as soon as he touched the ground. Sighing, he watched as she fainted. "I was just gonna ask where they serve meat," he whined. Then, a large, black and white bird with panda patterns caught his eye as it perched on the top of a building dozens of meters away from him.

"Woah!" gawked Renji as he ran through crowds of people to chase the bird. When he got close enough to reach the bird's tail feathers, the orange-haired man sneezed. "Oh, yeah," he remembered. "Feathers make me sick." Back on his home island, he had difficulties hunting birds. They always made him sneeze until his eyes burned red. Rubbing his face, he watched the panda-like bird fly into a particular direction. Hastily, he continued chasing it until it stopped near a restaurant.

The restaurant had a sign with a picture of meat on the front.

Barging through the doors, Renji disregarded the bird and the random men that were ransacking the shop. "Oi!" he yelled. "Is there food here?"

"Are you an idiot? Can't you see that I'm getting robbed?" yelled a girl from the center of the shop. Sweat slipped down her forehead. "If you're a Marine, then you should arrest these guys." She was tied to a wooden column.

Renji turned around to converse with her. He pointed at himself. "You want me to arrest them? That's not fun."

One of the scruffy thieves pointed a gun at the orange-hared sailor. "I'll take this scrawny guy. You two check the back for any kinds of money. I don't think we'll be able to get anything for these ugly clothes," he ordered.

Even as Renji stared down the barrel of the gun, he calmly strode towards the assailer. "You're not gonna shoot that gun," laughed the Tenki.

The man grunted, "What?" However, he received a hit to the stomach before he flew out the door.

His lackeys tried to run, but Renji jumped from the floor and dashed to clothesline them. Then, he threw them out the window.

Again, he glanced at the damsel previously in distress. "I'm hungry."

"Well, you'll have to untie me first!" she yelled. However, she had never witnessed any fighting style like that. Renji's arms grew some kind of black armor. Was that a Devil Fruit? Once he untied her, she stretched her limbs. "Thank you." Her curiosity led her to ask, "Was that a Devil Fruit you used to fight them?"

"No," he said as he shook his head. "That's just Haki." Blinking, he noticed how this girl hardly seemed traumatized. That amused him. The fact that she did not know what Haki was surprised him. Someone with nerves like her would make a good fighter.

She brushed her short, light-blue hair from her face and straightened her pink shirt. As she attempted to fix what the robbers ransacked through, she noticed that this guy sincerely wanted food from her. "This is no longer a restaurant, but if you buy enough of my wares, I will cook a meal for you," she revealed. Her dialect and speech pattern contrasted from the majority of the villagers.

"Clothes? I don't care about that sort of thing!" Renji yelled.

Well, that much was apparent to the woman. The mysterious man had stains all over his white uniform. However, was he truly okay with paying? After all, he nearly saved her life. She expected more resistance than a simple statement of indifference.

"How many clothes do I have to buy to eat enough meat to fill up that table?" He pointed to one of the circular tables behind him.

The woman widened her eyes to assess whether or not this man seriously requested that much meat. Surely, he must have been joking. "12 outfits which cost approximately 10,000 belli each," explained the tailor with a soft smile.

"Um," Renji stammered and tried to count on his fingers. "That's about 35,000 belli, right?" He held up four fingers.

Sweat dropped down the side of her face. "That is far off," she thought to herself. "How much do you have?"

Pointing to the text on his hat, he declared, "I'm a Marine, so I have to write the price on one of those papers, and then they'll send you the money before the next day." Reaching under his hat, he pulled out his ID. "See? You just need that number on there."

The tailor narrowed her eyes and inched her face closer to the card. His name was Tenki D. Renji. "I see," she plainly said, but on the inside, she eagerly awaited getting a good amount of money from him. She had heard about cards like this, but she didn't want to go too crazy. If she wrote some obscene amount, then the military would probably come to confiscate her entire establishment. "My name is Ann. Tell me what colors you want, and I'll have them ready by tonight."

"We're leaving at dawn - I think, but I don't care if you give them to me at all. I don't care about colors, and I always wear stuff like this," Renji began as he opened his shirt to reveal a gradient tank top and an open buttoned shirt. "I want the food first."

"Yeah, yeah," Ann sighed. She turned on the stove to place a skillet on the top. "Why'd you become a Marine? Are you the type of guy that likes to boss people around? Or are you gonna tell me you're doing it to heal the world?" she asked. Though, she noticed he did not arrest the robbers.

Renji grabbed his stomach and lied his head on the bar. "I became a Marine because of Monkey D. Garp. He traveled around the world and had lots of stories. Since then, the last thing I wanted to do was stay on a single island forever." Then he looked at the meat she dropped into the pan. "It's okay if I eat raw meat," he moaned.

"I'm not gonna give you raw meat," she sighed over her shoulder. As the food sizzled, she contemplated his innocent motivation. With a small smile, she envied the lack of angst, but there must have been something more to his past.

"Stop following me!" roared a voice from the entryway.

Ann jumped and began to grab for the carving knife near the stove. She wasn't prepared to try to put up a fight again.

Renji waved without looking towards the door. "It's fine. They're my friends," he smiled.

"If you keep yelling like that, you're gonna scare people away," Silk scowled. Quickly, she adjusted her face to smile at the shopkeep. "Hi, someone said that you run a restaurant, and then someone else said that you sold clothing. Which one is it?" Looking around, she also noticed the broken windows and knock over tables. Immediately, she began to replace as much as she could.

Pointing at the oven, Dragon said with a smirk, "Looks like she's cooking something."

Silk's head ached when she replied, "Yes, but she also has an assortment of fabrics laid out on the bar."

Ann turned off the gas. "This place is no longer a restaurant, but I cut a deal with your friend so that I would make him food after he bought twelve outfits," she explained. The sweat on her palms dried. "I can show you what I have."

Too embarrassed to request food, Dragon glared at Renji's fresh plate of food when he sat next to him. His stomach growled as loudly as he did.

"There's enough for both of you, but you're going to have to pay, too," Ann grinned. "I'm a business woman." By the time she finished explaining her payment system, the two men had already devoured the food she had cooked. "What?" she exclaimed.

Silk took a seat next to Dragon. "They're monsters," she groaned. "I've never seen anyone eat as much as they do. I can help with the next round, but just make sure these guys made their payments."

The blue-haired girl laughed, "You all are interesting." She had not laughed since she left her home.

"You should join the Marines," Renji grinned at Ann as she took his measurements in the back room of her shop. "We could be in the same squadron, too." He enjoyed hanging out with her over the past few hours. The food tasted better than the stuff served on the ship, but if she wanted to make clothes, then that would be okay, too.

Ann smiled. "I'm flattered," she muttered. "But, I came here to pursue my dreams of making clothes. My father wanted for me to marry the Prince of Alabasta. When I refused, he threatened to exile me. Before I could risk shaming my family, I left behind everything and everyone I knew. From what I hear, my younger sister is engaged to the Prince which makes sense. They loved each other."

"I don't get what that has to do with joining the Marines. You can make clothes anywhere," explained Renji.

"I enjoy Fahre. This city has what I wished for Alabasta. People here do what they enjoy, and they allow others to enjoy it as well. Everyone helps each other despite their own circumstances, and they are considerably more humble than the nobles I have known," Ann frowned as she finished jotting down the measurements for Renji's clothing. Over time, she learned to suppress her cumbersome emotions, but the prospect of Renji and his friends leaving saddened her.

Renji stepped off of the stool and turned to face Ann. Their eyes met. "Okay," he nodded. "Maybe we'll eat again one day."

"I think you meant to say meet," she smiled.

Instead of responding with words, the young Marine sneezed three times in a row.

"Balloon!" happily exclaimed Ann.

A large bird flew through the open window behind Renji. Once it landed on a nearby couch, he exchanged a glare with the orange-haired man. "It's you!" growled Renji.

Ann approached Balloon to embrace him. "How was your day?"

Renji kept sneezing. "I met him earlier. I wanted to eat him."

Suddenly, the young woman filled up with rage. "You wanted to eat my best friend?" she yelled. Her face reddened as she stomped towards the person who admitted to a crime punishable by death in her book. "Renji!" As she neared Renji, her arms and legs tremored.

Ann always has an issue with anger. She suppressed the emotion until she exploded.

Silk opened the door with a wine bottle in her hand and called, "Ann, Renji, you have to come see Dragon! He's totally different when he's drunk!" When she took a step back out the door, she turned around to see if they followed. Through her hooded gaze, she slurred, "I hope I didn't interrupt a love scene or anything."

"No, never," lowered Ann. She took a deep breath and forced an awkward smile.

The blond girl did not sense the tension, for the alcohol in her blood hindered her thought process. Grabbing her new friend's hand, she led her to the front of the shop where Dragon sat.

"Oi, Ann," shouted Dragon. He grinned, but this grin differed from his usual smirk. "Silk says I'm acting different, but I think I'm acting the same as I always do. I'm not even drunk."

Renji's mouth fell open. Dragon turned into an entirely different person. Running up to the bar, he tightened his fists and smiled. "Drunk people tell the truth, so do you think we're friends, Dragon?"

Tilting his head, he narrowed his eyes and said, "Yeah, what else would we be? We're best friends."

"Woah!" cheered Renji. Although he would have believed that without verbal confirmation, the words felt nice to hear. "Okay, let's ask more questions!"

Ann knew little about Dragon or any of them. Could she truly blend in with this trio? They already seemed to be close friends. Then, earlier, she unnecessarily snapped at Renji, yet he seemed to immediately forgive her. Most people described her as aloof or mean, but these people barged past the barriers she put around herself. Already, they invited her to join them.

"Do you like to sing?" giggled Silk as she watched for Dragon's reaction.

"Yeah, I like to sing," he confirmed.

Renji plopped down onto a seat and started singing "Bink's Sake" with Dragon. After he had finished, he nodded to Ann. "Your turn, now," laughed the Marine. He noticed how quiet she was.

Ann teased, "Do you like Silk?"

"Ohhh," said Renji. He covered his mouth.

Silk covered her entire face. "How could you ask something like that?" she complained.

"Fwahaha! Of course, I like her! That's a stupid question," Dragon laughed.

"As a friend!" Silk corrected him. She still covered her face. Maybe he said that because he saw her naked, but regardless, butterflies fluttered in her gut.

According to Ann, she simply asked that question as revenge for the comment Silk made earlier. Luckily or unluckily for her blond friend, Dragon never corrected her correction. Ann felt like a kid playing truth or dare. "I think Silk is drunk enough to answer questions, too," smiled the young woman.

Renji shouted, "Hey, do you want to be a pirate?"

"That's a stupid question! I hate pirates. Also, I'm not that drunk," she lied about her level of intoxication, but Silk always hated pirates. One of the reasons she became a Marine was to show that her biological relation to a pirate meant nothing.

Snapping Silk out of her pensive contemplation, Dragon dropped his hand on her shoulder. "Oi, I need more food. Make me food," he whined.

The blond girl growled, "I can't just make you food in someone else's kitchen." When he lied his head on her other shoulder, Silk shivered. "Jeez, you're creeping me out! Why are you so touchy-feely all of a sudden?" She jumped up from her seat and watched Dragon face plant down to the floor.

Ann and Renji laughed.

"You should drink more wine!" commanded Silk. "I'm embarrassing myself too much."

"I have to get started on these clothes. You can cook something for poor Dragon. I don't mind," Ann smiled as she went back to her workshop. Twenty-five outfits in one night? She had been waiting for that sort of deal for a long time. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Renji follow her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

Renji grinned. "You should be sorry for not coming with me to join the Marines. Everybody yells at me. Silk punches me all the time. Why didn't you punch me?" he asked.

Truthfully, she simply did not know how to express 90% of her feelings. People like Renji said whatever was on their mind, and she envied that. Twirling around, she stretched her arm to jab Renji in the arm. "Like this?" she asked. Her fist lingered on his arm as they made eye contact for the second time that evening. Did Renji like her? Had he ever asked someone to join just to be near him? Maybe he wanted her because of her cooking.

Renji had nothing romantic on his tongue. Walking over to the giant bird in the corner of the room, he touched its head. "I don't eat every animal," he admitted.

"He's been with me since I was a kid. A lot of people have pet birds over there," she explained. "I'm glad you like him, and I'm happy I met you, too." Ann enjoyed the laid-back atmosphere that Renji carried. She would miss him.

Before dawn, Ann finished all twenty-five outfits. In reality, she made mostly accessories for the guys. For Silk, she crafted actual outfits. She somehow finished around 2 am and managed to get some sleep. Silk and Dragon fell asleep in her bedroom while Renji fell asleep on her couch. However, the blue-haired woman wound up resting at her workbench for the remainder of the night.

"Augh! What am I doing in a bed with you?" shouted Dragon. "Gah! Why does my head hurt?" He held his throbbing head.

Silk covered her body as she sat up in bed. As she took the time to recollect her memories, she checked to see if she still wore clothes. Of course, she was not completely naked, but most of her uniform lied on the floor along with Dragon's undershirt and Marine coat. "You're overreacting," she reminded him.

His eyes nearly jumped out of his head when he saw Silk in her black lingerie that bound her ample assets. Again, he yelled, "What?! How can you say that when you're in your underwear?" This time, the proximity must have caused his chest to thump. Trying to regain his composure, he took a deep breath and straightened his face.

"I always sleep like this." At least that was a different reaction from yesterday. With a sly grin, she inched towards him. "You're pretty crazy when you're drunk, Dragon," she teased. When he got up from the bed, she stared at his muscular abs and defined biceps. Gulping, she shook her head.

"I doubt that," he retorted before throwing her uniform towards her.

Narrowing her eyes, she sat up on her knees. "You said Renji is your best friend, and you like to sing, too," she grinned. Last night was fun. However, for some reason, she simply could not say the other thing he admitted.

Dragon turned away from her. "I see. I shouldn't drink in the future then, or else things might get out of hand."

"You said you liked her, too," said Renji from the entrance.

"What?" exclaimed Dragon. "That's definitely not true. All of what I said were lies by the sound of it."

Silk threw a pillow at the orange-haired man. "Get out! Don't tell him that!" she yelled before covering herself with blankets.

"Dididi, I didn't know it's okay for Dragon to see you naked," laughed Renji as he tucked his hands into his pockets.

"I'm not naked," she growled.

Renji made his exit.

In an attempt to keep the upper hand, Silk swallowed her pride. "If you come back to the ship with me and help me do your chores, I won't tell anyone what happened last night," she offered. Red tinted her cheeks as she grabbed her clothes from the bed. Dragon most likely already understood that some of the events of last night and this morning would ruin her reputation as well. As far as she saw the situation, they were quid pro quo.

Dragon agreed, "Fine." That seemed like a relatively fair trade. As much as he loathed the fact that she could jerk him around, he could not explain what alternative pull she had over him. Maybe part of him admired her tenacious spirit, or maybe part of him admired her body - just a little. Of course, never in a million years would he admit that to himself.

Time would tell.

When they finished dressing with the door close, they exited the bedroom together.

"Are you guys gonna leave?" Renji asked with a frown.

Straightening her uniform, Silk replied, "We have to all be back in two hours, and Sakazuki-san will get upset if we're not done with our chores. Don't worry about yours. I'll help Dragon since you'll just mess everything up." She frowned when she saw that Ann was still asleep. "Did she finish are clothes?" she asked.

Ann stirred until she opened her eyes. "Oh, are you guys about to leave?" yawned the young woman.

Silk apologized, "Sorry for waking you. Did you manage to finish our clothes? It's fine if you didn't."

"No, I did," she smiled. When Ann opened the wardrobe, she revealed the 25 outfits and accessories that she promised. The clothes had a rainbow array of colors for all sorts of occasions.

Renji and Silk cheered, "Woah!"

Dragon merely reacted with a small smile. "Thank you, Ann," he nodded towards her.

The guys had similar jackets. While Dragon sported a long, dark blue coat, Renji received an equal length dark red one. They both had the kanji of their names written down the back. She also made a headband for Renji, and an armband for Dragon with their names on it as well. On top of that, she tailored two formal suits for all of them and casual shirts that matched their everyday wear.

Inspired by her Alabastan roots, Ann sewed everyone cloaks for rainy weather or deserts.

Silk, of course, received cute dresses of varying lengths. For her, Ann tailored more clothes for no extra charge.

"Thank you!" Silk and Renji cried after they tried on all their outfits.

"I don't like to write my own name on the clothes that I make, so I usually put the customer's name on them instead," Ann smiled. "A lot of people here say it doesn't fit the fashion of the island, so I'm really glad you like them."

With that, they continued their farewells for as long as they could until they departed.

A/N: I want to make a Tenacious D. pun. I wonder if that's what inspired Oda.

I'm not good at imagining clothes. They probably look tacky.