Smooth light-grey walls and tiled ceilings. Several maps placed around the room. A man sat behind a desk; he had long, spiky pitch-black hair, a squarish jawline, and a red tattoo etched onto the left side of his face. He wore a dark-green cloak with its hood down. There was a large rectangular map hung up against the wall behind him. He had a stern, dutiful look on his face as he gazed at the young boy standing before him.

"Hmm…, why the sudden change of heart?" he uttered in a low-pitched voice that was unsuitably calm as it clashed against his menacing appearance. He looked as if he was either constantly serious or constantly trying to hide his wrath.

"… I lost a bet," Pluto held his eyes closed in shame.

This man was present when that afro-clown fought against me… I didn't realize he was this scary looking. Monkey D. Dragon… leader of the Revolutionary Army and… the world's most wanted criminal.

"What kind of bet? With who?" He asked quizzically.

"… I don't wanna talk about…," the fourteen-year old boy muttered. "I'll join you – The Revolutionary Army. After all…, I have a bone to pick with the World Government. I'll tell you everything I know. The marines, the pirates, the underworld, I'll tell you everything."

"Is it true with what I heard? Did you kill a Celestial Dragon?"

The incident brought back memories that he could label as neither good or bad. He didn't regret his actions, but he wasn't proud of his actions either. "Yeah…, it was three years ago. By the way, how did you manage to find me?" He changed the subject, but it was also a genuine inquiry that had left him pondering.

"We keep track of the movements of the Cipher Pol. That's how we first discovered your existence. After that, it took about a year to track you down. Finding you wasn't easy."

"I see. I have… one more question," he gazed off to the side, clearly hesitant to ask his next question. "On this island, how many people know about my Devil Fruit power?"

"Hm?" Dragon lifted his head up, finding the boy's question to be rather peculiar. "There should only be two. I haven't told anyone about you yet."

So, she wasn't lying. Then…, how did she know? It couldn't have been a coincidence.

"I see."

By the time his conversation with Dragon had ended, Pluto departed out the wooden door, immediately greeted by a cool stream of air. It was the middle of the night now. A creamy-white crescent moon illuminated the night with its dim lights. The sky was devoid of clouds, vacant much like the land that stretched ahead of him; just about everyone should be indoors right about now.

Closing the door shut, the boy ambled off, heading back towards his room. But just as he was about to lower his guard, his eyes immediately sharpened. After just a dozen strides away, he sensed that someone was nearby, tailing him from behind. This presence was very close by, approaching him slowly and furtively. He couldn't hear any footsteps; whoever it was, they were trying to be undetected.

He continued his pace and kept his eyes forward, but his mind was attentively monitoring the one creeping up from behind. It was quite unusual; five meters away, anyone would have at least tried to vocally call out to him at this point.

Three meters away.

Even now, he didn't sense any hostility or bloodlust; this only made him more anxious as it wasn't clear what their intentions were. This uncertainty made it difficult for him to act.

Two meters away.

His fingers twitched, desperately itching to ball up into fists. Any second now, his body was on full alert to retaliate. A variety of simulations ran through his head, anticipating various forms of ambush that could unfold under these circumstances.

One meter away.

"BOO!" abruptly, a cute-sounding chirp completely circumvented his expectations. The sound came from a brown-haired girl who's just subtly shorter than him. Her eyes blinked as the blade of a hand was just centimeters away from the side of her neck. She couldn't see it all, the sudden motion of the boy's swivel and the chopping movement of his arm. It all happened so fast. She was impressed.

"…," Pluto stared down at his potential threat with tensed brows and piercing eyes. But when the most innocent-looking face was staring back at him in response, his face melted into confusion. "Ch-Chika…?" He stuttered.

"Ah! You remembered my name!" she said sprightly. "Did I startle you?" The brunette tilted her head to the side, leaning into the boy's hand.

Quickly withdrawing his arm, Pluto took a half-step back. "Why are you here?" he blurted out the first question that came to mind.

"I wanted to see you," she answered earnestly. "So? Is it official yet? Are you part of the revolutionaries now?"

He reluctantly nodded.

"Hmm…," she grinned. "Then…, have you figured it out yet… about how I managed to guess your Devil Fruit power correctly?"

Tensing his face, he avoided eye contact, remaining silent.

"No luck, huh? Did you ask Dragon how many people in the revolutionaries know about your power?"

"…," he shifted his eyes in the opposite direction, clearly uncomfortable.

"I see…, so you are curious about me."

Gnashing his teeth, the boy strode off, each step hitting the ground harder than usual. Off to the side, the girl had briefly powerwalked up to his flank before matching his pace. She gazed at him; her lips quivering a bit before breaking into a suppressed giggle.

"Hey Pluto!"

"What?"

"Isn't the night sky beautiful?" she gesticulated towards the heavens, embracing the mystic vibe of the darkness that was glittered with twinkling white stars that seemed to surround the moon.

"Hm?" He traced along the line of her sight, gazing up towards the sky. For him, the scenery was nothing new, but the sheer vastness would always make him feel small. "I suppose."

"Pluto, you can fly, right?" Her eyes shifted to the side, watching for his response.

"Not at the moment…," he grumbled, raising his left wrist to remind her of his handicap.

Chika held her own wrist behind her back and leaned closer to him, "Well, once you get your powers back, will you be fly while carrying someone else?"

"Huh? Why are you asking that?"

"Because…, it's every kid's dream to be able to fly."

"Is it? … I can only carry someone light during flight." He had only carried one person before a few times. The extra weight would slow him down and demanded more energy from his wings.

"Then…, what about me? Am I light enough?" She asked curiously.

"Eh!?" He froze stiff. The image of carrying her in the night sky popped into his head, and immediately, he mentally ripped that image apart, removing it from his consciousness. Looking away, he quietly answered, "… p-probably."

"Hmm… I see!" Her tone was full of satisfaction.

The next morning….

Within a large auditorium with grey-brick walls and ascending rows of wooden seats and desks that stretched across the room in a semi-circle, the children were seated, listening to a class taught by Inazuma, a man with a rather flamboyant appearance. The left half of his body consisted of orange hair, an orange lens of his glasses, orange half of a coat, and a dark-orange boot while the right side of his body consisted of white hair, a white lens to his glasses, white half of a coat, and a white boot. He had a squarish jawline, speaking in a cold, logical, and emotionless tone of voice. Beside him was a large green chalkboard filled with equations and maps taped onto the surface.

Some of the children paid attention. Some were dozing off. Some were asleep.

Pluto was asleep. His arms flat on his desk, forming a makeshift pillow for his head to bury into.

"Hey, Pluto, are you awake?" Chika whispered from the side, seated to his immediate right.

Darn… it's her again… I'll just play dead.

"Hmm…, well, I guess you don't want this key to your bracelet then," the girl smiled deviously as she held up a small item in her hand.

"…," the boy sharply raised his head up, "EH!?" His eyes gazed to the side, spotting a silver key in the girl's hand. "T-That is…!?" He was dumbfounded. The bracelet around his left wrist had a small keyhole; the size and shape of the key in her hand could reasonably be the real key to his cuff.

Is that real!? Or… is that just a fake!?

"It's real!" She informed, dangling the key in front of his violet eyes to entice him.

DID SHE JUST READ MY MIND!?

"No way…," he was dubious of her claim. There was no way that the real key to remove the Kairōseki bracelet could be so conveniently a few feet away from him. "Why would you of all people have it?" He challenged her claim. There was no way that the higher ups would entrust such an item to a little girl like her. And, why would she purposely just reveal it to him out in the open like this? This had to be a trap. It was too obvious! it was most definitely a trap!

"I stole it," she answered quietly.

Yeah right… as if the key can be stolen by a little girl…

"T-Then…," he held out an open palm facing upward, "G-Give it to me."

"Hm?" She tilted her head innocently. "Why would I do that?" She gave him a perplexed look.

"… Huh?" he blinked. Why would the girl bother to steal the key and show it to him only to then not give it to him?

"You're wearing that bracelet because you're too dangerous for even the higher ups to handle, right?"

"What? No… They just don't want me to fly off and escape."

S-Should I… take it from her by force? She's just an ordinary girl. It'll be like taking candy from a baby.

"Hmm? But, that's pretty dangerous. You know where our secret hideout is. If word gets out, that could be disastrous."

"But… I joined the Revolutionary Army, so I wouldn't betray them."

"Hmm… can I really trust you, though? You're pretty secretive and mysterious. No one really knows much about you, and you haven't been very open with me at all."

Pluto winced the more he heard her speak, each of her statement pushing him further and further up against a corner. How was he supposed to respond to that?

"Class dismissed," Inazuma announced. Almost immediately, the children rose up from their seats, ready to leave the room.

Chika then smirked as she rose up from her seat, "Well… I suppose I could you give you one chance."

"?" Pluto looked at her inquisitively.

"If you can take this key away from me within five minutes, you get to keep it. If you lose, then I'll hang on to it," she established yet another very simple game, and after a few seconds of letting him soak her words in, the brunette powerwalked away.

Five minutes? You underestimate me...

Springing from his seat, Pluto bolted straight for the girl, and in response, Chika looked straight ahead and meandered away through the crowd of students.

Damn it! She purposely timed it right when the students are leaving!

He may be fast, but with this many people obstructing his path and view, not only did he have to chase after her, he also had to find her in the midst out of all these swarming little rascals. Zigzagging with every stride, he weaved and slipped through the mob of children.

Once he bypassed the bottleneck at the doorway, the most concentrated point of population was behind him. Without pause, he dashed down the corridor, eyes rapidly scanning left and right in search for the brunette. The further he ran, the more spacious it became. Neighboring kids stared at the nimble boy rushing down the hallway.

"!" Immediately, his eyes pinpointed and zoomed in on a girl with long glossy brown hair. He outreached a hand, ready to grab her by the arm or shoulder until he noticed that she was nonchalantly ambling alongside with two other girls.

EH!?

Immediately, he hit the brakes, decelerating as his boots slid across the floor. As the three girls turned around, Pluto retracted his arm while stumbling a few steps back. The two girls on the side gave him weird looks while the Chika, who stood at the center, was suppressing a snicker at the sight of him hesitating.

There was no doubt in his mind that this had to be part of Chika's plans as well. She was the one who set up the game but chose not to run away, counting on the assumption that Pluto wouldn't do anything to her when surrounded by this many eye gazing onto him.

It was at this point that Pluto encountered a weakness that even he had not realized: crowds. As someone who operated at night, lurking in the shadows and hiding from plain sight, he was not used to navigating through crowds of people. He would always avoid them. He was not used to being seen by so many pairs of eyes all at once; he was not used to being at the center of attention here. It all felt wrong.

He felt judged and self-conscious. His heart throbbed; his cheeks heating up. Something about this felt humiliating. But, he couldn't do anything right now other than continuing to walk at a regular pace behind these girls. He kept his distance while locking his sight onto his target.

D-Damn it… I can't do anything right now…

Once Chika exited the building, she quickly waved to her two friends, "I need to go now, see ya!" The brunette then abruptly dashed off.

"Eh? Chika?" the two girls were perplexed at their hasty friend who just ran off with very little warning. Suddenly, a breeze blew straight between them, astonishing them both. They then saw the boy from before bolting forth at inhuman speeds, chasing down their friend. Neither of them knew what was going on at this point. Were they playing a game of tag?

Tch… Chika sure took her sweet time while inside, killing much of my time. But now…, if it's a contest of speed, I won't lose.

The brunette giggled as she looked behind her with a smirk on her face. "You acted exactly as I predicted, Pluto."

"Do you really think you can outrun me!?" He was vexed, being only five meters away from his target. But, his body suddenly grew sluggish. Soon, he came to a complete halt, hands pressed against his knees as he panted for air.

W-What!? I'm… out of breath already!?

"He-he-he!" Another jaunty giggle erupted from the girl as she stopped at a safe distance from him. "I knew it! With the Kairōseki strapped onto you, you overestimated your stamina and strength."

"Haah… Haah… Haah…," he continued to wheeze as beads of sweat trickled down his face.

She challenged me to a physical contest… knowing that the Kairōseki would hinder me? Even a little girl… has more stamina than me!?

With the silver key held in her hand, Chika raised the grand prize in front him, taunting him along with a devious smile of triumph. "Well now, Pluto…, I do believe that your five minutes are up. I guess I'll just hang on to this for now."

"Wait!" He staggered forth with shaky legs. "I'm not done yet!"

"Hmm? I don't mind if you chase me some more, but… are you sure about that?"

"!" His eyes soon shifted side to side, only now realizing that there were bystanders around with some already watching him. As much as he wanted the key, having others witness him chasing her down was not an imagery he wished to portray.

Damn you, Chika!