They came rushing out of the training grounds to see what had just happened. Jyabura stood there with his mouth hanging agape and Ratchet stopped in his tracks and a smile slowly crept up on his face.

"Are you crazy, Lucci?!" Jyabura screamed while debating whether or not to rush over to the young man lying on the ground.

Lucci's feline eyes traveled over to the trainee. He was still in his fighting form and Jyabura was grating against his already worn thin patience. He was amazed at how quickly it had been depleted.

Suddenly Ratchet broke out into a loud bellowing laugh.

"Jeffrey. Jeffrey. Jeffrey," he said as he slowly walked from Jyabura's side over to the blue streaked blonde lying limply on the sandy terrain and he changed his accent purposefully as he continued, "Didn't I tells ya not to mess with our family?"

Jeffrey shot up sharply into a sitting position and glared his emerald eyes at the older carpenter from beneath his baby blue bangs.

"You need to shut up, Ratchet! It was because he turned into a... a..." He sneaked another glance over to Lucci who was pretty much having a staring contest with Jyabura. He shuddered at the sight. "Because he turned into a monster that I-"

"Who's a monster?" questioned a familiar feminine voice.

Everyone's attention turned to the gray tinted brunette girl who was riding on Kaku's back. Manami's expression was clueless as to what they were talking about and also completely oblivious of the... leopard-man just ten feet or so away. Kaku chuckled at her oblivious question and Jeffrey sprung to his feet in a desperate attempt to retrieve some of his pride and dignity.

"One of your new boyfriends is!" he exclaimed as he pointed to Lucci.

The Neko Neko user snapped his eyes back over to his previous prey, although it ticked Jyabura off seeing that he didn't interest Lucci any longer or at least at this moment.

Fortunately for Jeffrey, but unfortunately for Lucci, he wasn't allowed to hurt anyone here and he wasn't planning on it either, but he was on the verge of changing his mind rather fast. Which he wasn't exactly opposed to, since he had done it before.

"They're not my boyfriennn..." Manami's protest died down as she realized that he was referring to one of her partners. "Wait... what?"

Jeffrey shook his arm violently in an attempt to get Manami's attention to follow it to the devil fruit user. Her eyes did just that.

"Holy crap..." she trailed with her jaw hanging open as she finished the "p" in "crap" while she stared.

His form was freakishly impressive to her. Maybe even more impressive than Kaku's, but she didn't have time to decide that yet because Jeffrey became extremely upset with her reaction.

"What the hell Ratchet?!" he yelled as he twirled around to face his superior fully, "Why in the fucking world would you hire a freak like him?!"

"Freak?!" spoke up Kaku, still with Manami loaded up on his back, "Would you like to say that again?"

Jeffrey turned to Kaku to make a comeback, but his voice box just didn't seem to cooperate while looking the sword using assassin dead in the face. The only "good thing" he could come up with was...

"And why do you care? Are you one too?"

His voice was shaky as he spoke to him and luckily for Jeffrey, Manami's beeper went off.

She reached behind her and removed the beat up black beeper like thing from her back pocket and held it up into the light where she could see the small letters on the screen. It said it was the kitchen trying to contact her. Her thumb pressed onto the button on the top of it to turn it on and then her finger went to the side where another button was located.

"What's up?" she greeted.

"Time to get your ass into the kitchen, Manami," said a "rough" feminine voice, "We need you to set up the tables."

"Alright. Alright," she said in reply as she took her finger off the button, "Oh and Yuki." Her finger went back to hear her.

"What is it?" the lady replied again in that "rough" voice.

Manami smiled and took her finger off the button again.

"Drop the act," she told her in a "bubble bursting" tone.

As her finger pressed to button again, a sigh of defeat reached everyone's ears.

The line went dead.

She released a heavy sigh as well and removed the tip of her finger from the button and then moved back to the one on top and pressed the switch, turning off the speaker. She leaned forward slightly, hanging her neck over Kaku's shoulder so she could look at him, or at least as best she could.

"'Ey Kaku," she said. His head turned very slowly to face her and his expression wasn't one of kindness, but that didn't seem to faze the girl on his back any. "I need to head to the kitchen. Could you let me down?"

He nodded and released her legs from his hold. Manami smiled as she slid off his back and as she hit the ground on both feet, she plummeted to the dirt below her, apparently still not used to the change of riding on Kaku's back to level ground. The young man turned to her and a small smile crawled onto his face while he shook his head at her. His anger had been diverted slightly… for now at least.

Manami's head hung, but she looked up at her "best friend".

"Am I just a friggin' klutz?" she pleaded in a pathetic tone.

Kaku chuckled and offered her his hand.

"That's how it's looking," he told her with a smile. Manami's jaw dropped yet again and a cute expression, in her opinion, appeared on his face. "You expect me to lie to you?"

Her face and emotions fell straight into the ground like a post going into a hole and she took his hand.

"I guess not…" she mumbled while begin pulled up to her feet and started walking over to an enormous, rectangular, brown and red brick building. She turned back and cupped her hands around her mouth. "I call when it's all done and ready!"

Most of all the workers grunted in reply, but there were those few who actually said a one syllable word.

"Now Jeffrey," started Ratchet as everyone's attention went back to the boy wearing seemingly too tight of clothes, "You need to learn now not to mess with our new workers."

Jeffrey's expression soured as Lucci and Kaku went to each others side and stood there with looks that could kill. Lucci reverted back to his normal look and his white pigeon friend returned to his shoulder.

"You should listen to him," Hattori hooted while motioning to the both of them.

The blonde clenched his fist and his jaw in frustration with Ratchet and the two new carpenters before him. He growled low, but knew he was beat. Deciding that he should leave them alone to recover at least a little bit of his dignity he walked back over to the boat that he had been working on before.

Ratchet nodded his head, signaling for everyone to return to their previous occupations and Lucci followed suit, heading back to the fishing boat as well. Kaku though stood there waiting.

"So, what's the verdict, Kaku?" the fire color haired man asked as he walked over to him.

"Well," he began, "There's a huge scar in the roof of……"

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ONE PIECE!!

I am incredibly sorry that this took so long to get out. I have been... well, taking a vacation this last week and I never had real access to a computer. -sweatdrop- So I apologize again for that. But anyways, I hope you are enjoying this so far because I am incredibly and please pardon the "rude" word I had Jeffrey say, I mean, if it bothers you of course. It was the only one that fit for him at the time. Please review!! It's really helping me out here!!

-Love Maruri